Inouye: Island ‘can’t wait’
Senator pledges earmark for Honoapiilani HighwayBy ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer
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He said he was concerned that an accident, fire, tsunami or other disaster could close the two-lane highway, effectively cutting off West Maui from the rest of the island.
“We have to come up with a plan for an alternate route,” he said.
While the project has been in the planning stages for years by the state Department of Transportation, Inouye said it is not currently moving forward. Saying the island “can’t wait any longer,” he hoped to add the project to the federal budget in early 2009.
“No one’s pushed it, because they’re all afraid of the expense,” he said. “In the mean time, you might have a disaster.”
Inouye declined to say how much he expected to request, adding that he would work with Mayor Charmaine Tavares and the Maui County Council to get community approval for a design and determine costs.
“It’ll be a massive add-on, because that’s the only way we’re going to get it done,” he said.
Inouye made the statements at a blessing of county public transit buses Thursday at the Binhi At Ani Maui Filipino Community Center.
Interim DOT Director Brennon Morioka said in a statement, “We have been working closely with our Hawaii congressional delegation on the future phases of the Honoapiilani project and would gladly welcome their efforts in acquiring federal funding for future construction.”
Phase one of the realignment from Lahainaluna Road to Puamana Beach Park is currently in design, with construction scheduled to begin in late 2009, said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa. Estimated cost for the first phase is $29.7 million, with 80 percent federal funding.
Future phases are still in planning.
Tavares said Inouye’s announcement Friday took her by surprise.
“It was news to me,” she said.
She said she would assign two of her staffers to work on the funding request with Inouye, the state and community groups.
“He’s very serious about contributing, because he feels it’s a matter of life and death,” she said.
Tavares added that she would like to see Kahekili Highway widened and upgraded to become a viable road out of West Maui. The rugged, one-lane mountain road around the north side of the West Maui “head” has sometimes been used to access Lahaina in emergencies. But police usually have restricted traffic flow to one-way out of Lahaina because several sections are too narrow to accommodate two-way traffic safely.
“We’ve got to do something about that road,” she said. “We need an alternate route out of Lahaina.”
While the realignment of Honoapiilani is a state project, the county has been involved in the past, including buying land for the highway.
Former Mayor Alan Arakawa initiated plans for an 8-mile-long shoreline park, saying he wanted to keep lands makai of the realignment in open space. But Tavares said her administration has not moved forward on the “Pali to Puamana Parkway” because the highway project has been stalled.
“We’re kind of at a pause until we can get more of a commitment from the state” on the highway, she said.
One possible use of federal funds could be for more land acquisition, she added.
Inouye said the Honoapiilani realignment would “cost a few bucks,” but that he believed he could get Senate support for the earmark by explaining to colleagues the size and economic value of West Maui, and the importance of the highway for health and safety.
“I’ll do my best,” he said.
Inouye, 83, is the third most senior member of the U.S. Senate.
He defended the practice of congressional earmarks Thursday, saying members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives know the needs of their district better than the executive branch.
Earmarks are additions to the federal budget made by members of Congress, usually for projects in their home districts. They have come under fire in the past several years, as pork-barrel spending has soared into the billions of dollars.
Inouye said Thursday he was concerned that all three leading presidential candidates had advocated reforming the practice.
“They seem to be a little hesitant on earmarks, or add-ons,” he said. “I’d like to suggest to our candidates they go to our Constitution and read it again. It makes clear the Congress of the United States makes our budget — not the president.”
Hawaii’s senior senator acknowledged his reputation for bringing home the bacon.
“Whether they want to criticize me or not, I’m the biggest bag man in Washington,” he said, receiving applause from the crowd.
• Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.
