After a year of waiting, the next step in the restoration of Puna roads severed by the 2018 Kilauea eruption is nearly complete.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency last year began developing an environmental assessment for a project that would reopen Pohoiki Road, Lighthouse Road and stretches of Highway 137, all of which were inundated by lava during the lower Puna eruption.
A draft of that assessment is expected to be released before the end of February, said county Recovery Officer Douglas Le in an email.
“Really, we wanted to get it in January,” said Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz. “But we have to be hopeful that FEMA is still on schedule.”
Le said that the county is ready to proceed toward construction when FEMA finishes their portion of the process.
“While we are waiting for permission to proceed, we are hard at work making sure that when it is our turn to move forward, we have as many things in place and ready to go as possible to reduce delays,” Le wrote. “The moment we receive the green light to proceed, we’re pushing forward.”
Kierkiewicz said that following the release of the draft EA, there will be a 30-day period for members of the public to review and comment on the document, after which FEMA will release a final draft while county agencies complete engineering and design work.
At some point during that 30-day period, Le said the county will host a public meeting for people to ask questions in person.
Kierkiewicz, who has been critical of the protracted process that has left these roads unrestored nearly five years after the eruption, said that there has been no indication from FEMA that the project is lagging behind a schedule the county released in October. That schedule estimated that the first phase of road construction could begin by the second quarter of this year.
The project is divided into four construction phases. The first would restore a portion of Lighthouse Road from the “Four Corners” intersection to Kapoho Beach Road, which is estimated to be completed by the end of this year.
The second and largest phase entails road and waterline construction along two sections of Pohoiki Road: the upper portion of the road, which was inundated by lava, and the lower portion connecting to Highway 137, which requires some realignment work and an adjacent waterline. That phase is estimated to begin by the second half of this year, and be completed by the third quarter of 2024.
The final two phases will restore sections of Highway 137. Phase three, which is scheduled to begin at the start of 2024, will restore the highway and waterlines between Kapoho Beach and Pohoiki roads, and the final phase will restore the highway south of Pohoiki Road to Mackenzie State Recreation Area. That last phase is not expected to begin until 2025.
The full project was estimated to cost about $82 million, with FEMA providing 75% of the funding, or about $61.5 million.
Kierkiewicz said that there have not been any substantial changes to the price, although she speculated that, given the rising costs of most things, particularly construction materials, there may be adjustments to the final cost.
With construction on track to begin this year, the end may finally be in sight for Puna residents displaced for years.
“I finally feel like we may be seeing some light,” said Deb Smith, whose Kapoho home was destroyed in the eruption, and who is currently “hiking and biking” across lava to her current residence on a neighboring lot. “I might finally be able to drive home soon.”
Smith said about half of the former residents of the destroyed Vacationland subdivision have applied for the county’s Voluntary Housing Buyout Program, but the rest are still hopeful that they may be able to regain access to their properties.
“For us to get access back into our subdivision, that could have been done years ago,” Smith said, adding that the entire process has been following a frustratingly slow pace set by the previous county administration. “It’s just been way too long.”
A Revitalize Puna event is scheduled between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Feb. 4 at Billy Kenoi Park gym in Pahoa. Kierkiewicz said it is unlikely that the draft EA will be available by then.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.