Leeward access route must not be delayed

It is heartening that planning on a long-needed emergency access road along the Wai'anae Coast is moving ahead relatively quickly.

But as this project moves forward, it must not be relegated into the category of just one of many needed transportation projects for O'ahu. Far more than a matter of commuter convenience, the Wai'anae bypass road is a matter of public safety.

The Leeward Coast has already endured too many incidents when its sole access route — Farrington Highway — has been closed due to any combination of human and natural causes.

The prospect of trying to get in and out of the area after a major tsunami or hurricane is almost too much to contemplate.

Current thinking is to create a standby patchwork of existing back streets, temporary access roads and others to produce a crude but serviceable mauka route that would be used only in emergencies. Even this project could cost $10 million or more.

The state has concluded that a major mauka highway is too expensive and too far down the priority list to receive serious attention. That may be reasonable. But there is no reason this project could not get some of the planning money that had been earmarked for the mauka highway as well as other forms of state or federal support.

The potential costs of not developing a secondary route are far greater than anything the city and state might now be planning on spending.