EAST KAPOLEI — Two related major projects expected to bridge the diverse communities of West O'ahu in different yet significant ways held a joint ground-blessing ceremony yesterday on the 'Ewa Plains.

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands officials blessed the $17.3 million East-West Connector Road while the Salvation Army did the same with the $103 million Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center.

The Kroc Center lies at the intersection of the East-West Connector Road and the upcoming North-South Road, and its main entrance will be off East-West Road. That symbiotic relationship was mentioned by leaders of both projects yesterday.

The East-West Connector Road being built by DHHL is expected to be completed in about 18 months, or late 2009, while the Kroc Center is anticipated to open for business in mid- to late 2010.

The one-mile East-West Connector Road would eventually bridge the new DHHL community in East Kapolei with 'Ewa's Fort Weaver Road.

DHHL Director Micah Kane called it "more than a road," noting its existence is crucial for the development of the University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu campus to the immediate north. Along the route will be the 1,000-home DHHL project and an upcoming 1,400-unit state affordable rental housing project, at least two schools, community parks and the statewide Hawai'i Special Olympics headquarters, Kane said.

DHHL is building only the section between North-South Road and East Kapolei. UH-West O'ahu is expected to build it through its campus and onto Farrington Highway to the northwest. An extension could eventually connect it with Fort Weaver Road to the east. But that would need to be built by D.R. Horton/Schuler Division as part of its proposed 12,000-unit Ho'opili project. That project is still very early in the land use approval process.

A key stop along the city's planned mass transit line is scheduled to be in front of the Kroc Center as well.

Built on 15 acres purchased from DHHL, the community center would have more than 100,000 square feet of space and will be the largest such facility in the state. It will have an aquatic facility, a multipurpose gym, a large fitness center, a worship and performing arts theater, family support services building, an educational and training center, athletic fields and a state-of-the-art preschool.

First Hawaiian Bank chief executive Don Horner, who heads the Kroc Center's Hawai'i steering committee, said the facility is sorely needed in West O'ahu, noting that it is centrally located within a 10-mile radius of 25 public schools including Waipahu, Campbell and Kapolei high schools. UH-West O'ahu, which is across the street, is also expected to benefit from the facility's proximity, said UH-West O'ahu Chancellor Gene Awakuni.

While the $1.5 billion fund set up for the Salvation Army by the late Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, is providing $80 million, $23 million is being collected locally. About $16.5 million in corporate and individual donations have been made to date, Horner said.