Department of Transportation

LIHUE – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) held a blessing ceremony on Monday, Oct. 1, 2018 to celebrate the start of the Hanapepe River Bridge project in Hanapepe, Kauai. The improvement project is a collaboration between HDOT and the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Central Federal Lands Division.

The Hanapepe River Bridge was built in 1938 and crosses the Hanapepe River on Kaumualii Highway (Route 50) between Puolo Road and Hanapepe Road, near Hanapepe Bay.

The new bridge will increase safety and address bridge width, railings, transitions, approaches and load capacity. Upon completion, the vehicle weight limit will increase to 44 tons, up from 34 tons, allowing heavier vehicles access over the bridge.

A temporary bypass bridge was constructed to allow crews to work on the permanent bridge. It is anticipated that traffic will be diverted to the temporary bridge by the end of 2018 and will return to the permanent bridge upon the project’s completion in summer 2020, weather permitting.

“We are very grateful for our partnership with the Federal Highways Administration which is supporting our effort to replace an 80-year-old bridge that had been rated as poor. We look forward to working with the FHWA on several other statewide highways projects,” said Gov. David Ige.

The project cost to replace the structurally deficient bridge is $35.2 million, 80 percent of which is provided by Federal funding and 20 percent from State funding.

For more information on the Hanapepe River Bridge project or the additional bridge and highway improvement projects being delivered through the Federal and State partnership, please click here.

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