Hawai‘i County will restore all sections of Highway 137 inundated by lava during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption.
Public Works Director Ikaika Rodenhurst made the announcement on Tuesday to the County Council’s Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations, and Economic Development. He also provided tentative timelines for road projects that he cautioned are aggressive and subject to change.
For Highway 137, Rodenhurst estimated the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could provide a notice to proceed by the end of the year, with construction starting in March 2022. Restoration of Lighthouse Road would occur at the same time, assuming measures are in place for protection of iwi kūpuna at Kumukahi.
Pohoiki Road reconstruction would start sooner, with FEMA’s notice to proceed estimated to occur in June 2021 and construction starting in September 2021. Restoration of about 850 feet of Leilani Avenue from Pohoiki Road to Kahukai Street is included in that timeline.
The County previously planned to restore about a mile of Highway 137 in Kapoho to provide access to Vacationland Hawai‘i and to make a temporary road over another segment of the coastal route permanent. This latest decision extends the commitment for restoration to all sections of the road inundated in 2018.
In total, the eruption inundated about 13 miles of public roads.
In 2019, the County restored Highway 132 with funding from the Federal Highway Administration. That followed completion of a temporary access road on Highway 137 between Pohoiki and MacKenzie State Recreation Area in 2018.
A cost agreement between the County and FEMA that was announced in March 2020 identified about $82 million worth of damage to public roads from the eruption, not including Highway 132. The Federal share of that is about $61.5 million, or 75%. The County’s 25% local match is about $20.5 million.
FEMA’s funds are provided on a reimbursement basis. Funds not spent on restoring roads can be allocated to alternate projects to support recovery in Puna.
An alternate project that has been identified is realigning the narrow lower portion of Pohoiki Road that wasn’t inundated to provide safe two-way access, while preserving the historic mango trees along that route. That project is anticipated to begin in October 2022.
For more information and future updates, visit the Road Access page.