HILO, Hawai'i — After years of delays, a Big Island judge has finally cleared the way for construction to resume on a half-built highway linking Keauhou and Napo'opo'o to provide some relief for stressed Kona motorists.

It may take developer Hokuli'a another two years to complete the so-called Hokuli'a bypass road, but news of the ruling by Kona Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra was still greeted with enthusiasm by some residents.

Kona blogger Aaron Stene, who has closely followed the legal dispute surrounding the road, said the ruling may be one of the most significant in West Hawai'i history.

"That road really desperately needs to be built," he said. "The way I look at it, this is going to benefit the whole Kona community."

Hawai'i County officials required the developer of the 665-lot luxury Hokule'a subdivision to build the road as a condition of rezoning the subdivision, and at one time the two-lane stretch of road was expected to cost about $25 million. However, Hokuli'a chief executive officer John De Fries estimated earlier this year the road will now cost upward of $53 million.

Nearly three miles of the road had been graded, paved and striped when work on both the road and the subdivision was halted in 2003 by another ruling by Ibarra in another lawsuit.

A settlement in that case allowed work to proceed on the subdivision last year, but work on the road remained stalled by a separate lawsuit by members of the kama'aina Richards family.

The family sued in 2000 to block condemnation of three acres of their land needed for the road right-of-way, arguing that the county in effect illegally had delegated its powers of condemnation to the Hokuli'a developer.

The family also argued that the county and the developer had created an illegal cost-sharing agreement that allowed the developer to recoup much of the cost of building the road from other landowners in the area.

Ibarra finally agreed the county had initially handled the condemnation improperly, but ruled county officials later corrected that defect, meaning the the condemnation of the right-of-way is legal. Ibarra ruled the county must pay the family about $250,000 for the land and costs associated with the condemnation.

NEED WASN'T CONTESTED

However, Ibarra rejected the cost-sharing arrangement that required other landowners to help pay for the road as they develop their own properties.

Richards family spokesman Charles Coupe praised the ruling in a written statement released yesterday. Coupe said the issue was that the county had acted illegally, and the case was never about whether the road was needed.

"It has been a long fight, but it has been worth it," Coupe said in the statement. "Our family knew this wasn't right, and we would stand up for our rights and our neighbors' rights again, if necessary."

Joseph Kamelamela, who represented the county in the case, said he was also pleased with the ruling because it allows the road construction to advance.

The road is important because it is supposed to ease the flow of traffic between the business and hotel districts to the north, and rural areas in South Kona and Ka'u, where many workers live.

However, Kamelamela said county officials are still studying the ruling, and said it is possible the county could appeal the portion of the ruling that invalidated the cost-sharing agreement.

"We have to study it to see if an appeal is appropriate on that issue," he said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.