Millions allotted for Hana Bay makeover

Officials say work on dilapidated wharf, pier and boat ramp far too long overdue

By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer
WAILUKU — Hana Bay’s crumbling and inadequate wharf, pier and boat ramp will receive $23 million in upgrades in the next several years thanks to the state.

The state Department of Transportation will replace the condemned turn-of-the-last-century Hana pier in the next several years with a $20 million structure that will enable emergency shipments to the isolated region of Maui.

In a separate plan by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hana’s boat launch, which is connected to the pier, will get a major $3 million makeover simultaneously.

State Sen. J. Kalani English, whose 6th District includes Hana, has pushed for the improvements for years and is credited with securing the funding in the last legislative session. He and others have advocated for the work, saying that Hana is at risk of being isolated in a natural disaster, and that subsistence and commercial fishermen deserve better.

The scope of the infrastructure improvements is the largest Hana has seen in recent memory. But it will not benefit charter fishermen, of which Hana has none, or promote further development in East Maui, English said.

“I’m trying to be careful to make sure people know that this is not about full-blown shipping service, and no one is coming in,” English said. “We are not opening up Hana.”

English compared the repairs proposed to Hana’s pier to the existing facilities at the Hansen’s disease settlement at Kalaupapa on Molokai. Kalaupapa, which is managed in coordination between the state Department of Health and National Park Service, receives most of its supplies when a barge arrives once a year.

English also said that Maui’s major shippers, Matson and Young Brothers Ltd., have expressed no interest yet in expanding their services to Hana.

Wharf improvement proponents said the pier would be needed as a lifeline in case an earthquake took out Hana Highway — as one did near Kaupo in 2006. If that happened, the only road to East Maui’s rural communities would be sealed off, potentially causing a public health and safety calamity.

The region is also served by Hana Airport, but that is a limited facility, and flying in supplies on small planes for an extended period of time is impractical, said retired Maui County Council member and Hana fisherman Bob Carroll.

English is chairman of the Senate Transportation and International Affairs Committee. He was joined at Friday’s news conference with the governor to sign Act 200 by state Rep. Joe Souki, who is chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

Gov. Linda Lingle announced the Hana upgrades when she signed into law a $118.3 million bill aimed primarily at improving Kahului Harbor in the next six years. English and Souki said they hope and expect that the Hana improvements will be placed on the same fast track, if not faster.

The act also moves the responsibility for the Hana Bay pier to the Department of Transportation, since it’s considered a commercial endeavor. Meanwhile, the boat ramp is officially recreational and remains in the realm of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“It should move expeditiously,” Souki said. “English did a good job of advocating for Hana . . . Overall, we could end up spending less or more, but I expect less. We’ll see when all the plans are done.”

Here are some of the ideas bandied about in both initial proposals:

• Repair the existing breakwater.

• Dredge in the bay.

• Replace the entire pier with one that’s smaller.

• Make the pier only available for emergency or regulated deliveries, such as removing vehicles from the landfill and bringing in heavy construction equipment that can’t use the twisting Hana Highway and its aged bridges.

• Renovate the boat ramp and install a loading dock.

• Make the facility compliant with the American Disabilities Act.

• Build a boat wash-down area.

• Install new security fencing, lighting and pavement.

English estimated that construction is about two years away.

“People have been asking for these improvements since I was a kid; and I’m 41 now,” he said.

Carroll also said that the work is long overdue. The boat ramp is the only one in the region. And before the pier was condemned when a storm further damaged its concrete and girders a few years ago, it was a community meeting place for neighbors to fish and talk story, Carroll said.

“This is important to us fishermen, as an alternative,” Carroll said. “The only employment we have in reality in Hana is hotels, the county, the state and flower growers, so we have to keep the ramp open. . . . And we really don’t have to worry about charters or ferries since it’s an open bay. People have tried before, but the water’s too rough for their customers.”

Randy Awo, DLNR Maui branch chief for the Conservation and Resources Enforcement Division, also liked the improvement plan.

As a remote community, Hana deserves infrastructure upgrades to keep it safe, and the fishermen need it as well, he said.

“From what I’ve seen, I think it’s a really, really nice plan,” Awo said.

• Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.