The Hawaii County Council voted Wednesday to accept $12 million in state funds to improve a small but vital one-lane bridge in Hilo.
Council members voted unanimously in support of a bill that appropriates $18 million — two-thirds of which would be provided by the state, with the remainder covered by the county — to reconstruct the 4-Mile Creek Bridge on Kilauea Avenue.
Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy said at the meeting that the 100-year-old bridge is a vital artery for hundreds of commuters a day.
“It’s a major thoroughfare,” Lee Loy said. “It provides direct access to Highway 11 from upper Hilo.”
However, Lee Loy said, the narrowness of the bridge presents problems for emergency vehicles, which has been exacerbated after the 2017 opening of the Haihai Fire Station less than a mile away.
Because drivers are obligated to stop at the bridge until oncoming traffic has stopped, congestion at the site is a frequent problem, with traffic often backed up past Haihai Street.
Public Works Director Rodenhurst said the $18 million would be used to construct a new two-lane reinforced concrete bridge to replace the current one and to conduct a traffic study to determine whether the county should add a traffic signal to the Kilauea Avenue-Haihai Street intersection.
According to the bill, the new bridge will retain the historic features of the current bridge while making structural and safety improvements.
No timeframe for the bridge construction was presented at Wednesday’s meeting. However, State Rep. Richard Onishi, who represents the district, said the county has three years to spend the funds.
Council members were highly supportive of the project, particularly those who regularly cross the bridge to access Highway 11.
“I have to drive across that bridge at least once a day, so I know just how bad it can get,” said Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz.
The council also voted Wednesday in support of a resolution to consider establishing a Metropolitan Planning Organization, an entity authorized to make planning decisions regarding transportation infrastructure projects within the county.
Kierkiewicz, who introduced the resolution, said that if 2020 census data indicates that any county census tract has a population of 50,000 or more, it could form an MPO and gain access to $25 million in shared federal funds across the state. However, because that data is not yet available, she said the resolution largely serves to prepare the county to establish an MPO sometime in the future.
Also Wednesday, the council’s Parks and Recreation and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to rename the Rodeo Arena Grandstand at the Pana‘ewa Equestrian Center the Alvin ‘Al’ Cabral Rodeo Arena Grandstand, in honor of the late Al Cabral, who died last year and was director of the Pana‘ewa Stampede Rodeo and president of the Hawaii Horse Owners Association.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.