A pair of Hamakua bridges are due for repairs after Hawaii County received $6 million in federal funds.
The County Council Finance Committee approved a resolution Tuesday that would allow the county to accept $6 million through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to conduct minor repairs on the Honoli‘i and Kaiwilahilahi stream bridges north of Hilo.
County Public Works Director Steve Pause said the two bridges are both off-system bridges, meaning they are not eligible for typical infrastructure funding through the federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
Pause added that the 100-year-old Kaiwilahilahi Stream Bridge, located on Old Mamalahoa Highway in Papa‘aloa, currently is closed to traffic, but both bridges only require minor repairs, including road-grading, repaving, spall repairs, foundation repairs and drainage improvements.
Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball said Tuesday that she is grateful to receive the funding, but added “there are so many other bridges in my district that we’re trying to fix right now, these were not even on my radar.”
Nonetheless, Kimball thanked Pause for being able to knock two more bridges off the county’s list of infrastructure repair projects, a list she said “never seems like it ends.”
The committee voted unanimously to forward the funding resolution to the full council with a favorable recommendation.