Buses pull up to the transit hub at the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center in 2019. County officials have been planning to relocate the transit hub to a site near the mall. The county’s top transportation official said Monday that the new transit hub, which is currently under construction, could be completed by the end of this year. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

KAHULUI — The Central Maui Transit hub that will replace the one at Queen Ka’ahumanu Center may be up and running by the end of this year, a county official said on Monday.

The $2 million bus hub is located off Vevau Street near Kane Street, across from the old Sears store. A prefabricated metal engineering building has already been built.

Transportation Director Marc Takamori told a council committee Monday morning that they are waiting for utility issues to be resolved on Vevau Street, which is undergoing improvements through the Kahului Lani affordable senior rental project.

He said the roadway issues involve drain and electric underground lines, which Hawaiian Electric Co. is addressing.

The county has been working on an alternative site for the transit hub since the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center decided in October 2017 that it would not be renewing the lease for the island’s busiest transit hub. The mall extended the lease for the current terminal to July 2021 to allow time to finish building the new hub.

County Communications Director Brian Perry did not respond to a question on Monday of whether the lease had been extended.

The county obtained the 0.85-acre site for the new transit hub in a swap with the state for the old Wailuku Post Office site across the street from the county building. The new site was selected to allow the Maui Bus system to maintain its current routes. It’s not far from the mall and located near the Kahului Public Library and two housing projects — the Waterfront Apartments and the Kahului Lani senior rental project.

With the relocation of the hub, the 11 existing bus shelters at the mall will be removed.

Perry said plans for the transit hub include pedestrian and driveway access on a portion of Vevau Street between School and Kane streets.

He added that even though the road is still being worked on, the transit hub contractor has temporary access to the site for work to continue.

Workers were seen at the site Monday afternoon.

The county had said the hub was originally scheduled to be completed at the end of 2021. Perry said the hub’s timeline has also been affected by construction material shortages, supply chain and staffing issues due to the pandemic.

In responding to questions from the Infrastructure and Transportation Committee Monday, Takamori said the hub has a maximum capacity of nine vehicles at a time. Normally there will be six buses at a time, but that could expand to nine.

He also acknowledged that the department is also looking at developing other transit hubs in South and West Maui.

At its groundbreaking in February 2021, the county said the hub will include a ticket office, ADA-accessible restrooms, covered seating, bike racks and lighting.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.