Better road to Hana calls for business sacrifices
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
KAHULUI, Maui — Small businesses that depend on tourists who drive the winding Hana Highway are bracing for a potential drop in customers with this week's start of a four-month road project to protect motorists from falling rocks.
The $1.3 million state Department of Transportation project will restrict traffic to a single lane on a quarter-mile stretch of the highway at the 11-mile marker, east of Puohokamoa Bridge, while workers cut into the slope, remove trees and install protective netting. During a 10-day period in June, the road will be closed entirely from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
"This is going to devastate us," said Tammy Luat-Hueu, who works at her family's Ke'anae Landing Fruit Stand in the tiny seaside village of Ke'anae. She said 95 percent of the people who stop to buy banana bread, smoothies, hot dogs and other refreshments are tourists.
Even with only one lane of the two-lane highway closed, Luat-Hueu expects at least a 75 percent drop-off in business. She said the threat of roadwork will discourage tourists from making the scenic 55-mile drive from Kahului to Hana.
For updates on Hana Highway traffic conditions, call (808) 248-7070.
Nita Chong, who has operated the Halfway to Hana food stand on the highway at Ke'anae for 22 years, also expects a dip in customers. But she's willing to take a hit to support highway improvements.
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"Of course it does affect business when they close the road, but as long as they open it periodically, it should be OK," Chong said. "We want the repairs; we want the road to be good because it's safer for us and safer for the tourists. In the long run, it's going to benefit us — and with a better road, more people will come out."
Both Luat-Hueu and Chong said they wish the rockfall project could have been scheduled for another time of year, since summer is their busiest season.
Luat-Hueu also wonders why the work couldn't be done at night.
Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said safety concerns when working on treacherous, sloping terrain make it necessary for the job to be done during daylight hours.
He said public meetings held during the environmental assessment period and experience with other Hana Highway construction projects helped officials determine which hours work best for the community and the contactor.
Although the work by Prometheus Construction will occur between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays, one lane of the highway will be closed at all times, with traffic controlled by signal lights posted at both approaches to the work site. From June 21 to July 1, no traffic will be allowed on that section of road between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. while loose rocks are scaled from the mountainside.
The estimated completion date is Aug. 10.
Luat-Hueu also expressed concern that the chain-link netting being installed to prevent rockslides will be an eyesore against East Maui's tropical landscape. Ishikawa said the area's lush vegetation can be expected to regain a foothold on the slopes and should eventually camouflage the netting.
Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
