Widening of freeway getting back on track

It's too much to expect, we suppose, for the state Legislature to consider the volume of bills it does without something falling through the cracks.

This year's most notable lapse was a relatively small appropriation required to secure the federal funds for a much-needed widening project for the H-1 Freeway.

The state had already come up with the $5 million needed to get a matching $20 million in federal money. All that remained was to allocate another $2.5 million to get another $22.5 million in federal money to complete the project.

The Legislature's lapse meant a delay in the federal money, which would have pushed construction off until mid-2004.

Fortunately, the Department of Transportation was able to transfer the needed money from the state highway fund instead, allowing the project to start next spring.

No one argues the project isn't needed. Essentially, it pushes a bad bottleneck in the ewa-bound lanes another 1.25 miles west by widening the freeway from five lanes to six from Kaonohi Overpass to the Pearl City-Waimalu offramp.

It always gets worse before it gets better. Commuters will complain, of course, during the 18 months of construction in which lanes will be closed. But the sooner we get started, the sooner the new lane goes into use.