Sites near H-3 to be preserved

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

An agency that has $11 million to preserve and interpret cultural resources in the H-3 Freeway corridor is seeking the public's advice on how to spend the money.

"We're still at the beginning, but we're planning to present what we've done so far to the public," said project coordinator Kahikina Akana.

The federal highway money was set aside almost 15 years ago to be used after the controversial freeway was finished. Construction uncovered a number of significant cultural areas, and the agency's mission is to make sure the areas are recognized and respected, Akana said.

In the early stages of the effort, a working group of 14 people established a process to implement the project in areas that stretch from Kane'ohe on the Windward side to Halawa near Aloha Stadium.

Next week's meetings are the first public step in the process.

"We want to make community involvement a key to identifying the major sites affected by H-3 and how they will be treated," Akana said.

Although no decisions have been reached on what will be developed, there's no shortage of ideas being floated:

• Restoring two heiau that were found on the Halawa side of the Pali.

• Replanting much of Halawa Valley with native Hawaiian plants.

• Restoring the agriculture terraces that were uncovered in the Luluku area.

• Developing the area around the former Haiku Omega station below the freeway.

The interpretive development agency was created under a 1987 memorandum of agreement between the Federal Highways Administration, the Hawai'i State Historic Preservation Office and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The state Transportation Department and Office of Hawaiian Affairs also approved the agreement.

Ninety percent of the $11 million available for the project comes from the federal government. The rest comes from the state Transportation Department.

The group hopes to begin implementing its final plan by 2005.