Plans by the state to widen Highway 130 to improve traffic flow in Puna are once again up in the air, state officials and legislators say.
Earlier this year, $30 million in capital improvement funding was allocated to the state Department of Transportation to expand Highway 130 from two to four lanes over a one-mile stretch between Shower and Kaloli drives in Hawaiian Paradise Park. The funding would allow the project to qualify for additional federal financing.
This widening project was intended to coincide with a pair of other projects — a widening of the roundabout at Ainaloa Boulevard and the installation of an acceleration lane at the Shower Drive/Highway 130 intersection — which would collectively improve traffic circulation along lower Puna’s main traffic corridor, where delays are frequent.
However, officials are now saying that not all of those projects may actually happen.
“The only one of those improvements that I was assured is still happening is the acceleration lane at Shower Drive,” said Puna Rep. Greggor Ilagan, adding that work on that project should begin around next year. However, he said, the other projects are up in the air.
Ilagan said DOT’s priorities for East Hawaii have shifted, and the department, having received the $30 million, is no longer pursuing the highway widening project.
DOT spokeswoman Shelly Kunishige said that DOT has determined that the full cost of widening Highway 130 would be more than $140 million, and that those funds would be better invested in other, as-yet unspecified, transit solutions for the area.
However, Kunishige added that the Shower Drive acceleration lane is still planned to go out for bid in mid-2024.
Ilagan said he was frustrated by the department’s decision, noting that plans to improve Highway 130 have been repeatedly delayed over the last several years.
“The $30 million is there, but they’re picking and choosing their projects, and Highway 130 is not the priority anymore,” Ilagan said. “It’s frustrating, because I thought the expansion was more doable this year, but the acceleration lane at Shower hasn’t happened yet, either.”
But because the road is a state highway, Ilagan said it falls entirely on the DOT whether the project is done or not.
“We can only legislate so much,” Ilagan said. “But if you ask me, Highway 130 is one of the top three issues for my district.”
Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz said that traffic along Highway 130 is so habitually snarled that she has to leave home two hours in advance to make it to Hilo on time.
“If I leave five minutes later, I’m stuck bumper-to-bumper,” Kierkiewicz said.
Kierkiewicz said she hopes DOT will reconsider its priorities, but added that the highway needs more than piecemeal improvements.
“If they’re going to make improvements, they’ve got to be holistic,” Kierkiewicz said.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.