HONOLULU - Work on Phase 1A of the Lahaina bypass highway is expected to begin in mid-December following a realignment to avoid an archaeological site, state Transportation Director Brennon Morioka said in a statement released Friday.
In the same announcement, Morioka said a public information meeting on findings of a draft environmental assessment on the realignment and details on the phasing of construction will be held Dec. 10 in Lahaina. The meeting will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center.
He said the move to start construction is aimed at boosting employment in West Maui as well as proceeding with the highway project that has been discussed for decades.
"We are committed to bolstering the state economy by responsibly advancing a number of our projects," Morioka's statement said. "Starting this project in December will create employment for 12 to 15 people right before the holidays and allow for more people to be employed throughout next year."
State Sen. Roz Baker, whose 5th Senate District covers West Maui and South Maui, supported the new alignment that avoids a cultural site that still has not been fully evaluated.
She said she was advised by highways officials that the changes should not add to the cost of the $48 million project that was awarded as a "design-build" contract in which the contractor completes the design as well as building it.
"I think that is a smart decision to realign the highway to avoid the archaeological areas. We certainly don't want to get into an H-3 situation," she said, referring to legal battles that held up the H-3 freeway on Oahu and tied up highway funds that might have gone to a Lahaina bypass in the 1990s.
"This way, we can be sensitive to any of the sites that were previously undiscovered," she said.
Morioka's announcement did not indicate whether the change in the highway corridor would affect the cost of the contract already awarded to Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co.
He said a draft environmental assessment is being prepared to address the new "northern corridor," on which construction will be held up while work starts on the southern segment around Lahainaluna Road and the Ikena Avenue alignment.
The new alignment brings the highway makai of the original route to a modified intersection at Keawe Street, which is being extended by Maui County to connect to the bypass highway. The bypass alignment then moves mauka to continue on the proposed route around the Kaanapali Resort to an eventual connection with Honoapiilani Highway at Honokowai.
The cultural site being avoided encompasses 32 acres in a triangular-shaped area extending from Kahoma Stream near its conjunction with Kanaha Stream. It includes several rock walls that may be agricultural terraces. After the sites were identified last year, an archaeological survey was ordered to determine the significance of the sites and whether there were burials within the sites.
Construction work in December will include preparation for detours around Lahainaluna Road, which serves Lahainaluna High School, Lahaina Intermediate School, Princess Nahienaena Elementary School and the Kelawea Mauka residential area.
Morioka's announcement said Ikena Avenue is expected to be closed for construction in January, with work proceeding toward Kahoma Stream, which will require a two-lane bridge. The initial work in Phase 1A will also involve an underpass structure for the highway to go below Lahainaluna Road.
While Baker said she was advised that the realignment would not require additonal funds, she said the Legislature is prepared to provide whatever is needed to move the project forward.
"My understanding from talking to Department of Transportation previously is that they did not anticipate it would necessarily increase the cost," she said. "That was when they were still looking at the alignment.
"We need this bypass to go forward. If anything, we are happy it seems to be back on track. Both my House colleagues and my Senate colleagues will join me in making sure there is funding for this."
Edwin Tanji can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com.
