Road to lava flow reopens
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
KALAPANA, Hawai'i — Hundreds flocked to the opening of a 2.6-mile path to Kilauea's lava flow yesterday, welcoming a roadway carved out of forbidding pahoehoe.
Associated Press
The lava-covered road on the remote Kalapana coastline was restored to make it easier and safer for people determined to watch lava that flows from underground tubes into the ocean, sending up spectacular plumes of steam.
Tony Riccio and fiancee Ann Marie Castro take a self-portrait near where Kilauea lava flows into the sea. Part of Highway 130 on the Big Island reopened yesterday, improving access to site on the remote Kalapana coastline.
Autos arriving yesterday quickly filled the 160 parking stalls along the narrow 17-foot roadway, but other drivers managed to find space where they could. Tourists arrived in 15-passenger vans because larger buses are not allowed on the road. Others hitchhiked in, rode motor scooters, and hung onto the sides of pickup trucks to be at the opening.
"It's a blessing" said Minnie Ka'awaloa, whose family home near Kalapana has been one of the few spared from destruction by Kilauea. "I would rather see this road than folks getting lost and trespassing. I am glad it is open again."
The road, State Highway 130, once allowed motorists to travel through Kalapana and along the Chain of Craters Road to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. It was destroyed by lava in the years after Kilauea erupted in 1983.
With the lava flow now outside the boundaries of the park and closer to Kalapana, visitors have been ignoring barricades and making the 6-mile roundtrip hike to the shoreline or using four-wheel-drive vehicles to go most of the way.
Big Island Mayor Harry Kim said he plans to ask for reimbursement next week from the Hawai'i Tourism Authority for the cost of restoring the road. He also envisions a visitor interpretation center and said he may consider charging "a token fee" from visitors to underwrite the cost.
