Final permit OK'd for Saddle Road

Advertiser Staff

HILO, Hawai'i — The last major permit required for a $32 million upgrade of a stretch of the cross-island Saddle Road has won approval from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.

The Federal Highway Administration has undertaken a $200 million effort to upgrade sections of the Saddle Road and realign other portions of the highway to create a modern 48-mile thoroughfare running between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Supporters hope the project will provide a significant impetus for the Big Island economy by providing short-term construction jobs and by offering a more efficient link between the tourism centers in West Hawai'i and poorer rural communities in East Hawai'i.

The permit for conservation district use that was approved Friday allows federal officials to move ahead with additional planning and permitting on Phase 2 of the Saddle Road project, which will extend from an area 19 miles west of Hilo to an area near the Mauna Kea Access Road.

Construction on the nine miles of Phase 2 is expected to begin in 2005.

Groundbreaking for the first phase, a 15-mile segment from the Mauna Kea Access Road area past the Pohakuloa Training Area to Kilohana, is set for next month

That portion of the project is expected to cost about $60 million.