State shuffles priorities for roadwork on O'ahu

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The state is deferring work on some high-profile highway projects because of permit, planning and design delays, officials said yesterday.

However, several other projects will be put on an accelerated pace to ensure that the state will not lose federal money designated for its highways this year, the officials told members of the O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, which oversees coordination between federal, state and city transportation projects.

Among the projects being pushed back until at least the next fiscal year are upgrades to the roads in Kalaeloa, right-of-way acquisition for the long-planned North-South Road in Kapolei, extensive improvements to Kalaniana'ole Highway in Waimanalo, and bridge replacements in Waimanalo, Waiahole Valley and South Punalu'u.

The delays frustrated several members of the metro planning agency's policy committee, most of whom are elected state or city officials.

"Out by Kalaeloa, you can't move on the roads sometimes. You can't turn. You can't get anywhere. And now you're telling us that we're going to have to wait at least another year to get any relief," said Rep. Mark Moses, R-42nd (Kapolei, 'Ewa Village, Village Park). "You try getting somewhere on the highway at 2:30 p.m. someday. You could die before you make it where you want to go."

State Highways Administrator Glenn Yasui said many of the projects scheduled for this year won't be ready for action before the end of the fiscal year in September.

"Rather than lose federal funds for them, we thought it would be prudent to defer them until later," he said. In Kalaeloa, he said, officials have not yet met all the government requirements to make the roads eligible for federal money. Several other projects are awaiting permits or final planning approval.

Meanwhile, several state projects have been put on an accelerated pace to start either this year or next. They include widening Kane'ohe Bay Drive near Castle High School, resurfacing parts of Kamehameha Highway and Moanalua Freeway, extending the H-1 Freeway AM Zipper Lane from Pearl Harbor to the Ke'ehi Interchange, and repairs in the Wilson Tunnel on Likelike Highway.

Several of the metro agency's committee members also clashed over a long-standing proposal to reverse the one-way traffic patterns on Pensacola and Pi'ikoi streets in urban Honolulu.

"Common sense says it's an inexpensive, easy fix for many traffic patterns," said Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo). "It's incredibly foolish to keep things like they are."

Gordon Lum, executive director of the O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the agency has been recommending the change for years, but it must be implemented by city officials.

"It's not nearly as simple a project as you think," city Transportation Services Director Cheryl Soon told Hemmings.

She said the changes would involve long stretches of two major city roads, reconstruction of the Makiki Post Office driveway and the lives of thousands of residents of the area who are generally opposed to the idea.

"We need much more detailed study of the issue than we have now," Soon said.

Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.