(BIVN) – The Hawaiʻi County Council Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit got an update from the Department of Public Works on the effort to rebuild Highway 132 in Puna, which was covered by lava during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano.

DPW Director David Yamamoto explained how the project has encountered difficulties on the lower section on the road due to high temperatures still present in the solid lava.

“We also encountered more dense rock there which is associated with higher temperatures as well,” Yamamoto said. “We had a lot of equipment breakdown and it wouldn’t be conducive to install the asphalt concrete base course at this time.”

The County is under pressure to complete the temporary highway by an October 5 deadline in order to receive total reimbursement for the project from the Federal Highway Administration. The County is asking for an extension.

Public Works may also ask the feds “to participate in the permanent restoration of the highway, which would require an additional 6 inches of asphalt,” Yamamoto said.

The Hawaiʻi County Department of Public Works provided this update on the Highway 132 reconstruction project:

Upper Section: from the PGV check point to the kipuka, a length of approximately 8,700 feet (1.6 miles).

• Rough grading (52,000 cubic yards excavation) complete.
• Crushing and spreading of base material complete.
• Fine grading ongoing and should be complete first week of September 2019.
• Paving with asphalt concrete base course (ACBC) started September 3, 2019.
• Shoulder dressing, sign installation and striping to follow paving work.

Lower Section: from the kipuka to 4 Corners (Highway 137), a length of approximately 7,900 feet (1.5 miles) and Highway 137 from 4 corners to start of lava. Length of approximately 1,100 feet (0.2 miles).

• Rough grading (57,000 cubic yards excavation) complete.
• Crushing and spreading of base material ongoing.
• Fine grading to start first week of September 2019.
• Paving with ACBC will begin as soon as the road temperature cools down to allow for the paving work.
• Shoulder dressing, sign installation and striping to follow paving work.

Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz noted that the cost of doing the Highway 132 restoration to federal standards was estimated to be $11.9 million. Federal Highways said it would reimburse the County for one hundred percent of the cost, however – after doing some research – Kierkiewicz found the FHWA only allocated $8.3 million dollars for “Kīlauea volcano eruption, earthquakes, and lava flow.”

Of that $8.3 million, the County is only getting half that amount – about $4.15 million dollars – for Highway 132. The rest is going towards the restoration of other roadways, presumably state highways, Yamamoto confirmed.

“They also reassigned $2.3 million, I believe, from another project that didn’t go forth,” Yamamoto said, “so total, we have is about $6.5 million dollars to complete this temporary road.”

“But it cost $12” million, Kierkiewicz interjected.

“No, its not gonna cost $12,” Yamamoto answered, “because we didn’t consult the design out, and we didn’t bid it out – the traditional bid – to a contractor to do. So we eliminated all that overhead and cost of having a general contractor do it.”

“It’s gonna come in close to that $6.5 million dollars, if not slightly over,” the DPW director said.