Council approves funding for changes to Kalanianaole project

The County Council passed a bill to provide funding for changes to the long-delayed Kalanianaole Avenue improvement project.

The bill allocates $10 million to improve a deteriorating 1-mile stretch of Kalanianaole Avenue, although Finance Director Deanna Sako clarified last month that those funds will not increase the project’s $18.5 million price tag. Rather, the bill reallocates some of the funds already dedicated to the project in order to reopen bids for contracts.

County officials explained during previous council meetings that the project, which began in 2018 and was once scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020, must be altered to allow a concrete base for the road, which will be less likely than an asphalt base to damage a fuel line under the roadway.

Newly appointed Public Works Director Ikaika Rodenhurst reassured council members that he is taking the project seriously and is committed to finally completing it as efficiently as possible. Currently, the project is on track to be finished by the end of 2021’s second quarter.