2009-02-AU Limited Scope Performance Audit of the Highway Fund

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Chapter 4: CHALLENGES FACING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS contrary notwithstanding, the several counties by ordinance may take over, or receive by dedication or otherwise, any private street or way or may improve, grade, repair, or do any construction work upon private streets, ways, pavement, water lines, street lighting systems, or sewer repairs." [emphasis addedl • Attorney General Opinion 86 -15 also provides that County highways on Hawaiian Home Lands are required to be maintained by counties but title not transferred. • Section 264- 1(a)(1) and (2), HRS, provides as follows: "Public highways and trails. (a) All roads, alleys, streets, ways, lanes, bikeways, bridges, and all other real property highway related interests in the State, opened, laid out, subdivided, consolidated, and acquired and built by the government are declared to be public highways. Public highways are of two types: (1) State highways, which are those lands, interests, or other real property rights, as defined above, having an alignment or possession of a real property highway related interest as established by law, subdivided and acquired in accordance with policies and procedures of the department of transportation, separate and exempt from any county subdivision ordinances, and all those under the jurisdiction of the department of transportation; and (2) County highways, which are all other public highways." [emphasis addedl The County needs to establish a clear written policy and process for determining whether a road is a County highway that it has a duty to maintain and repair. Thereafter, the County needs to establish an inventory of all County highways based on consistently applied criteria. The lack of a clear written and published policy defining which roads will or will not be accepted as public highways and receive maintenance leaves the County open to public perception of impropriety or favoritism. For example, in 2004, Mud Lane was a narrow gravel country road between Waimea and Waipio Valley, part of which was a narrow winding dirt trail used by the public for hiking and riding horses. The Hawaii Island Journal article " Waipio Expressway? The fight over Mud Lane" by Krista Sherer highlights the potential for negatively impacting public perception in the absence of having a clear written policy and criteria for public highway maintenance. In this article, some local residents believed that the County acted improperly in starting construction of a road where only a trail existed to provide access to a single property sold 20