COM 0400.139 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In 1997, in its annual Report to the Governor, the state Highways Division stated: "The department continues to work to increase the corridor capacity of our highways. On Hawaii, we have comp/eted studies for widening of Queen Kaahumanu Highway." That was seven years ago. Six years ago, in 1998, it was reported that traffic on Queen Kaahumanu had exceeded its carrying capacity. Where do things stand today? On May 17, 2003 Governor Lingle named three projects to ease traffic along Queen Kaahumanu. They were: (1) widening the highway for about two miles north of Kailua-Kona, though there was no cost estimate yet; (2) resurfacing of 30 miles of the existing road at a cost of $10 million; and (3) adding guardrails and shoulders over the same stretch of highway for $8 million. Governor Lingle cautioned, however, that there was little money available. She said the state's "revenue picture keeps getting smaller and smaller" and said we have to "live within our means." It's worth noting that the grim picture the governor painted a year ago looks far better today. Visitor arrivals and spending, construction activity, and real estate sales are all booming. In .luly and August this year, state tax receipts were up a whopping 26% from a year ago. Total state tax receipts this year may be $100M more than projected. Given these facts, it's time to reconsider whether we can catch up overdue highway construction. In November last year, at a meeting of the governor's West Hawaii Advisory Committee, Glenn Yasui from the state DOT, declared drat Phase I of Queen Kaahumanu from Henry Street to Kealakehe Parkway would be out to bid in April 2004. As for Phase II -widening Queen Kaahumanu from Kealakehe Parkway to the Keahole Airport -the state's funding plans and timetable remained indefinite. On May 9 this year, Mayor Kim said he was working with state DOT director Rodney Haraga to speed up widening of Queen Kaahmmanu. The first half of the 8-mile stretch from Kailua-Kona to the airport was reported to cost $25 million, with no funding in place to even plan the second halt. On April 2, 2004, Congressman Ed Case announced House approval of a major transportation bill, including projects on our island. Congressman Case said, "The roughly $1 billion for Hawaii surface and ferry transportation is vital not only to address urban congestion on Oahu, but also the rapidly-growing cities, towns and communities of the Neighbor Islands where traffic and inter-island travel have emerged as top concerns." How much of that $1 billion is headed our way? Not much, really. For Queen Kaahumanu, Phase IC $4.85 million. That's a start, but not nearly enough. How much federal funding will be forthcoming in the next few years? On what timetable will the state appropriate its share of funds to complete Queen Kaahumanu? To help us get a handle on these questions, Chairman Arakaki wrote a letter to Governor Lingle on September 1. To date, we have received no reply. Just a month ago, though, the governor told the Big Island Business2Business magazine: `7 think a major role of the state government is to try to improve state facilities and infrastructures to accommodate growth. On tlae west side, that means tlae Queen Kaahumnau Highway, getting that resolved. " We know there is momentum on this issue, but we can'Y seem to pin it down. Meanwhile, Mr. Morris and his partners requested rezoning for their 83-acre project. Do we kill that 2