Roadwork — or lack thereof — continues to plague the residents and businesses of Keaukaha.
One lane of Kalanianaole Avenue, the primary access road to Keaukaha and King’s Landing, has been partially closed for road construction since 2018.
Last month at a Keaukaha Community Association meeting, Hawaii County Public Works Director Ikaika Rodenhurst announced that the end date has been pushed back to August 2022. Perviously, he had said the work was expected to be done by February 2022.
“For us, it’s unfortunate, and there’s nothing we can do to change it,” said Pat Kahawaiolaa, president of the association. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t continue to push for the reason why, which is still unexplained.”
Public Works recently negotiated with the contractor, Goodfellow Bros, for concrete paving instead of asphalt due to shallow utility lines that could not be relocated.
Upgrading from asphalt to concrete pavement has increased the cost of the project and extends the completion date by six months, but it will provide additional protection for subsurface lines.
“The utility line issue seems like something that should have been discovered in 2018,” Kahawaiolaa said. “We can handle a lot of things, but when it appears that you don’t have correct communication and can’t answer our questions, it’s makes us think we’re perceived as expendable.”
While the community is frustrated with the construction, one of the biggest issues people have is the lack of clarity and communication from the county.
“Frustration is getting to a high point, and we’re just trying to boost communication. If you can’t do something — tell us,” Kahawaiolaa said. “Sugarcoating things or making blank statements doesn’t help anything, and we keep hearing the same things over and over.”
Kahawaiolaa equated the road construction to other issues that have troubled Keaukaha, most recently the 2 million gallons of fully treated wastewater discharged in Puhi Bay without final chemical disinfection.
The incident occurred Oct. 18 at the county’s Waste Water Treatment Plant, located at 150 Kekuanaoa Place in Hilo.
According to county officials, chemical feed pumps supplying sodium hypochlorite for effluent disinfection stopped pumping due to loss of signal from the effluent flow meter.
“It’s ridiculous that we have to suffer all of these things, and we’ve raised enough issues, and it just seems like nobody cares,” Kahawaiolaa said. “We’re going to keep moving forward as much as we can, and I really do hope we can celebrate the completion of the road in August.”
Businesses operating along Kalanianaole also have been frustrated by the construction and how it has affected their customers and employees.
Kekai Kamai is a garden specialist at the Hilo Grow Shop and a longtime resident of Keaukaha.
“I live and work here, so every time I go home, I have to make a left instead of a right and loop around,” Kamai said. “It’s a burden in general. Traffic backs up, and we do have customers that don’t come in because they don’t want to drive here.”
While Kamai is frustrated with the road, he mentioned that many issues are not addressed in Keaukaha regardless of how hard community members push to be heard.
“It’s just, it’s always been like this,” Kamai said. “Waste management dumped untreated water the other day, and the county has still not addressed the issue with airport noise, which has caused a lot of problems for my neighbors who live on the fence line.”
Since Keaukaha is located mostly on Hawaiian Home Lands, Kamai believes that discrimination and a focus on tourism plays a role in the lack of improvements to the area.
“In my opinion, it would’ve been done quicker if COVID didn’t come and we were still getting cruise ships,” Kamai said. “That’s why we got sidewalks. It wasn’t for us; it was for the cruises and tourists. We’re paying for it, but it’s never been for us.”
Lee Mori manages Creative Arts Hawaii located right off Kalanianaole where he and his team have grown accustomed to the traffic pattern and construction noise over the years.
“I mean, I hate to say we’ve adapted to it, but we have,” Mori said. “We forget how it was before, and have gotten used to not knowing how and when they’re going to finish. We just have to live with it.”
While business remains steady online, Creative Arts Hawaii does not receive as many in-store customers as it did before the roadwork.
“A lot of people do avoid coming down here and would rather order things online,” Mori said. “We also began offering delivery so customers don’t have to drive down.”
Although Mori and his team have learned to work around the construction, it remains a disruption.
“We still have the dust and the construction noise, so it is an inconvenience,” Mori said. “I’m glad I’ve seen some people working, because it was even worse when I didn’t see anyone out there.”
Laurie Tavares owns Millie’s Deli and Snack Shop on Kalanaianaole and has gotten used to the dust and construction noise outside her business.
“We were closed for 15 months during COVID, and I was sad the job wasn’t done when we reopened,” Tavares said. “We came back, and then they started work again. It was disappointing, but we’ve gotten used to it.”
While the unfinished road has been bothersome, Tavares was able to open a back entrance to the snack shop, which has helped customers save time when visiting.
Tavares also has created a friendship with many of the Goodfellow Bros workers when they come to her shop to get lunch.
“The construction workers are our friends,” Tavares said. “I actually feel bad for them, because I think the plans keep changing on them.”
Last week, Goodfellow Bros was creating dry wells to help aid drainage in the area.
Remaining tasks include completion of drainage improvements, water line relocation, concrete and asphalt paving, signage and road striping.
Public Works is working with Goodfellow Bros to improve the estimated completion date by at least two to three months, according to Sherise Kana’e-Kane, information and education specialist with Public Works.
The current final cost estimate to complete the project is $22 million.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com