Highways

KAHULUI – The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) is sharing the next steps in the Department’s plan to ensure connectivity of the highway system to West Maui. In July, HDOT submitted a competitive grant proposal to supplement the cost to realign 4.5 miles of Honoapiilani Highway from Ukumehame to Laniupoko. This planned realignment would connect to the previously constructed Lahaina Bypass and addresses the second priority location on the statewide report for coastal highway protection.

HDOT expects to hear in late 2021 if the Honoapiilani Highway Realignment Project has been selected for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant opportunity. HDOT is asking for $25 million in RAISE funds towards the estimated $90 million in project design and construction costs. Should the project be fully funded, construction is anticipated to begin in late 2024.

HDOT is pursuing every opportunity included in the infrastructure bill to maximize funding for this important project once it is finally enacted.

“Honoapiilani Highway is a critical route and we are taking the steps necessary to ensure it is protected from sea level rise and coastal erosion,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Deputy Director for Highways Ed Sniffen. “As the planning, environment, and design process continues we’ll be asking for public input and support for the realignment.”

Temporary mitigation action to keep Honoapiilani Highway protected while the realignment project is in the works include: shifting the existing alignment approximately 12 feet mauka within the Highway Right-of-Way between mile markers 12.97 and 14.49. This small realignment is in preliminary engineering and has an estimated cost of $4 million.

HDOT will be working closely with Maui County and Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, who own most of the land that the proposed realignment would be constructed on.

As the project nears construction HDOT will make regular updates through news releases and the Highway Program Status Map at https://arcg.is/0XTWX8

A preliminary figure showing the proposed realignment can be seen below.

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