Public meetings are to be held today and tomorrow on a plan that is aimed at mitigating the harm done to important cultural resources in Halawa Valley, Kane'ohe and other areas along the route of H-3 Freeway by the construction of the highway that opened in 1997.

The Halawa-Luluku Interpretive Development Project is the result of an agreement reached in 1987 between federal and state agencies to mitigate the damage done to significant cultural areas by freeway construction.

About $11 million in federal money was set aside for the project.

A draft plan completed in 2005 identified four areas to be set aside, preserved and developed for cultural healing, preservation, and educational and religious purposes.

The four areas included North Halawa Valley, Ha'iku Valley, Luluku and Kukui O Kane Heiau.

Luluku is the site of several ancient agricultural terraces, while Kukui O Kane Heiau is the largest heiau in the Ko'olaupoko district.

The freeway cost more than $10.3 billion and took more than 10 years to build. Decades of legal confrontations preceded its construction, including clashes that forced the road to be realigned several times to avoid historic sites. Opponents said that even then, the route chosen destroyed or damaged many historic areas.