Public comments on Alii Drive culvert project

KAILUA-KONA — Nicole Lui implored managers to be safe instead of sorry at a public meeting Monday night concerning the draft environmental assessment for the culvert replacement project on Alii Drive set to begin in early 2019.

Hawaii County determined last month that a project to widen the Alii Drive culvert at Kahului Bay and repair the bridge above it would create effectively no significant environmental or cultural impact to the area.

Still, Lui said enlisting a cultural monitor to advise the project that will interact with six archaeological sites would be a prudent consideration. District 7 Councilman Dru Kanuha, who was also in attendance Monday, seconded Lui’s sentiment.

“My concern is throughout this environmental assessment … it talks about burials and there being a lot of burials in that area,” Lui said. “We don’t know what might be found when they’re digging and ripping and trenching and whatever else they’re going to do to the aina. A cultural monitor would be the eyes of the Hawaiian community.”

Bob Rechtman, of ASM Affiliates, Inc., was receptive to Lui’s proposal. He spoke extensively to Lui’s concerns, cataloguing all the pertinent archaeological sites and focusing specifically on an area within the impact zone that was once utilized as a family cemetery.

He said to the best of his knowledge, all of the remains were exhumed in the 1970s and moved to other burial plots at the direction of their descendants.

“We are hoping they got everything when they did that,” Rechtman said. “But there’s always the chance that they might have missed (something).”

Rechtman reaffirmed the county’s dedication to cultural and environmental sensitivity while carrying out the project, and the suggestion to employ a cultural monitor will be added to the final environmental assessment. That is expected to be published in June.

Ron Terry, of Geometrician Associates, said otherwise there is essentially no concern.

He noted there are no endangered plants in the impact zone and said project designs via timing or other means have been cultivated to avoid impacting a handful of endangered animals that sometimes frequent the area. Among those species are the green sea turtle, possibly the hawksbill sea turtle, the Hawaiian hawk, the Hawaiian red bat and potentially an endangered moth.

The Fish and Wildlife Service agreed with Terry that the project design should spare these animals any impact.

Mike Hunnemann, of KAI Hawaii, Inc., said project construction will take place between 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. daily and is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2019 after bidding opens in October of 2018. Construction is projected to last about one year.

“People will have to slow down a little because it’ll be a construction zone, but it’s already a 25 mph zone so it won’t be that dramatic,” Terry said. “There will be some delays, but not significant.”

To accommodate pedestrians a raised sidewalk 7 feet in length will be included in the project, while a 5-foot shoulder will be incorporated for safer cycling. Alternate routes for pedestrians and cyclists will be created for use during the construction period.

The last environmental concern discussed Monday was the shoreline, and while Terry admitted there would be some impact there, he added it’s likely to be positive.

“We are messing around with the shoreline, but what we’re doing is un-hardening the shoreline and making it less human-influenced and more back to nature,” he said. “With a little luck, we should see sand and cobble restored here instead of just the rock that’s here now.”

The culvert widening where the Waiaha Stream meets the sea was initially proposed in 1998 and then put on hold due to a lack of funding. The project has been resumed so the channel is able to contain a 100-year flood and protect surrounding properties.

The original culvert built in 1937 created a double-cell culvert and each cell is roughly 10 feet wide. The redesign will create a single-cell culvert with a width of 75 feet.

The estimated cost for the project is $11 million and will be funded by the federal government to the tune of 80 percent. The remaining 20 percent of the tab, or a little more than $2 million, will be absorbed by the county.

The public comment period for the draft EA ends May 8. Those interested in submitting comments may do so by emailing Terry at rterry@hawaii.rr.com or by sending traditional mail to P.O. Box 396, Hilo, HI 96721.

Comments may also be sent by mail to Casey Yanagihara at County of Hawaii, Department of Public Works, which is located at 101 Pauahi St., Suite 7, Hilo, HI 96720.