The governor has released $4.4 million for improvements to Diamond Head State Monument, one of O'ahu's most visited landmarks, a news release said.

The funds will go to stabilizing hillsides and slopes, improving narrow corridors and other trail sections, and installing safer stairways and wider walkways. Design work is expected to be finished in April.

Construction will start in February 2009 and be completed in a year.

The Diamond Head trail attracts about 2,100 visitors a day.

Wear and tear — coupled with the natural effects of erosion — have left several parts of the historic 0.8-mile trail in bad shape, said Clark Hatch, president of the Diamond Head State Monument Foundation.

"Some of the trails are so eroded, people have to stumble up to the summit," said Hatch, whose nonprofit group has been working with the state to see a 2003 master plan for the park through to fruition.

"It's the most important landmark on O'ahu," Hatch added. "We want to do everything we can to improve that visitor experience."

Hatch said the $4.4 million will be a "start."

The funds will be added to $2.7 million that Gov. Linda Lingle released earlier this year for rockfall mitigation and slope stabilization to protect park users and homeowners who live along Diamond Head.

State parks officials have said the improvements are overdue.

The park generates about a fourth of the annual $2.5 million that goes into the state parks special funds. State parks bring in money from fees, concessions and permits. But the Diamond Head trail is the only park that collects an entry fee — $1 per hiker or $5 per vehicle.

Earlier, the state said the $4.4 million appropriation included funds for stabilizing the rock face above the Diamond Head trail access tunnel.

Crews were also going to assess exterior rock faces adjacent to Poka Place and along Diamond Head Road. In May, a rockfall injured a woman picnicking at the base of the cliff near Diamond Head lighthouse. The woman suffered head and back injuries.

Improvements to the trail include the construction of a loop connecting the summit and the landing at the top of the tunnel. The addition is designed to ease backups of hikers heading up the trail.

Lingle frees funds for Diamond Head

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.