Upgrades sought for 3 harbors
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
LAHAINA, Maui — The state is proposing to upgrade harbor facilities in Maui County in an effort to improve the ferry boat system that carries passengers between three islands.
A public meeting to introduce a proposed new pier at Lahaina Harbor will be held at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the Lahaina Intermediate School cafeteria. An informal open house will precede the meeting at 4 p.m.
Proposed improvements include a new pier 35 feet wide and 116 feet long, a concrete walkway connecting the new and existing piers, and a small floating platform with a moveable gangway.
The Lahaina proposal is one of three projects being designed to improve the ferry system that serves Maui, Lana'i and Moloka'i. The Federal Transit Administration is expected to provide 80 percent of the money.
The state obtained $408,000 in federal money to help plan a Maui project expected to cost millions. Design and construction costs to the proposed improvements at Manele Small Boat Harbor on Lana'i are estimated at $5.8 million, while design and construction costs for Kaunakakai are estimated at $3.3 million.
Lana'i-Maui and Moloka'i-Maui ferry service has been provided by private operators since the late 1980s. Expeditions operates the Maui-Lana'i ferry service, with five daily round trips between Lahaina and Manele. Sea Link runs the Moloka'i-Maui ferry, with two round trips between Lahaina and Kaunakakai Harbor daily except Sundays, when there is a one-way trip from Moloka'i to Maui.
At times, the ferries are delayed in loading or unloading passengers because of cruise ship and tour boat traffic and other activities that share the harbor. On days when cruise ships are in port, the Lahaina harbor is one of the busiest in the state.
Peter Young, chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the federal money is a boon to the state and county.
"However, we are sensitive to community concerns due to the location of this project, which is in the Lahaina Historic District and in close proximity to the Hauola stone and Kamehameha I's Brick Palace," Young said.
The stone sits at the edge of the seawall where the new pier is proposed. It was thought to have healing powers. The Brick Palace, the first western structure built in Hawai'i, is now nothing more than an open space in front of the Pioneer Inn with a few old bricks visible in the ground.
Surfers also might be concerned about the proposed pier, as the ocean off the area where it is planned is a popular surf site.
Tomorrow's meeting will provide information to the consultants who will prepare an environmental impact statement, and allow the public to discuss the changes informally with state officials.
The environmental statement is scheduled to be completed by late next year, while the Manele design is scheduled to begin in January, with construction anticipated to begin in early 2006. There is no schedule for Kaunakakai Harbor at this time, officials said.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
