LAHAINA, Maui — The state is planning a second pier at the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor to accommodate interisland ferries that now fight for dock space with cruise ship tenders and dozens of tour and recreational vessels.

The $8.3 million Department of Land and Natural Resources project would erect a pier on piles 60 feet north of the current dock for use by the two ferry companies operating between Maui, Lana'i and Moloka'i. The facility will not be used by Hawaii Superferry, which operates out of Kahului Harbor.

DLNR will host a public information meeting tomorrow on a draft environmental impact statement for the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor Ferry Pier Project.

The new pier will be about 115 feet long and 35 feet wide and will be able to accommodate about 100 passengers. Two structures 16 feet high and connected by a trellis will be built on the deck of the new pier to provide 4,000 square feet of shade and shelter.

The open-sided design of the shelter is meant to maintain ocean views as much as possible, the draft EIS said.

New berthing space will be provided on both sides of the new ferry pier, including where the Carthaginian II used to be tied up.

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation has a number of concerns about the plan, such as making sure the open-air shelter resembles traditional Hawaiian architecture and keeping the former Carthaginian II berth reserved for historical and cultural uses, according to executive director George "Keoki" Freeland.

In 2005, the foundation scuttled the deteriorating Carthaginian II, an old steel-hulled cement carrier rigged to resemble a 19th century brig, after maintenance costs proved too costly for the nonprofit group.

Freeland said the Lahaina Restoration Foundation has been working with a cultural organization to use the berth to display a double-hulled voyaging canoe, and that there is room enough on the north side of the new pier for the ferries.

The foundation also opposes new dredging in the harbor and wants to ensure a thorough federal review of the project because the Federal Transit Administration is providing 80 percent of funding and the work will be taking place in Lahaina town, a National Historic Landmark.

DLNR engineering chief Eric Hirano called the project "a massive planning effort." He added that his agency fully recognizes Lahaina's historical and cultural significance, and has held several meetings with harbor users, residents and others, with more to come.

He called it "a good project" that will enable safer and more efficient harbor operations.

Steve Knight, president of Expeditions, the Maui-to-Lana'i ferry, said congestion in Lahaina harbor is his company's biggest headache.

"A new ferry pier is something we've needed forever, really, especially with the amount of cruise ship traffic," he said.

The company operates five daily roundtrips between Lahaina and Manele, and carried 180,000 passengers last year, according to Knight. Expeditions also operates two daily roundtrip voyages between Ma'alaea and Manele.

Knight said his ferry is required by the Public Utilities Commission to stay on schedule and is supposed to have preferential use of the existing pier. But often, the ferry must wait while cruise ship tenders unload and load passengers, he said.

The second ferry company using Lahaina harbor is Sea Link of Hawai'i, which makes two daily runs between Maui and Kaunakakai.

In addition to cruise ships and ferries, the small boat harbor is used by 47 commercial boats and 71 recreational boats, according to DLNR.

The two ferry companies will have priority use of the new pier, but other vessels also will be able to use it, the agency said.

Although the ferry pier project includes dredging of about 2,500 cubic yards of material to widen the entrance channel and deepen berthing spaces, the draft EIS said surf sites north and south of the channel will not be affected by the new ferry pier.

In fact, a small platform to provide surfers with safer access to the ocean is included in the project, Hirano said. Surfers now launch from the existing pier amid departing and arriving vessels.

Construction is expected to start in 2010.

The project additionally includes construction of two sewage pump-out stations and a 60-foot-long concrete walkway to connect the existing pier with the new pier structure. The administration office and ferry ticket booth will be replaced, and improvements will be made to the passenger drop-off area.

The draft EIS is available online at the state Office of Environmental Quality Control's Web site, www.state.hi.us/health/oeqc. Copies also may be reviewed at the main branch of the Hawai'i State Library in Honolulu and Lahaina Public Library.

The 45-day comment period on the draft EIS ends March 24. Written comments should be submitted to: Eric Hirano, P.E., Engineering Division, State of Hawai'i, Department of Land and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 373, Honolulu, HI 96809.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.