Hilo bridge replacement project clears another hurdle

The long-awaited replacement of an old, well-traveled one-lane bridge that provides an access corridor between Highway 11 and Hilo’s southern outskirts is a step closer to reality.

A draft environmental assessment published Monday found no significant adverse environmental impact would be caused by the replacement of the Four Mile Creek Bridge on Kilauea Avenue, just south of Haihai Street.

The bridge was originally built in 1916 and underwent major reconstruction in 1964 that altered it to its current condition. The plan is to widen the single-span concrete-girder bridge — which carries about 11,000 vehicles daily — to almost 60 feet, roughly triple its current width. It also would be lengthened to about 125 feet, more than double its current span.

“Keone Thompson, the Public Works engineering chief, mentioned that by the end of this year, the plans and designs should be all finished, and it should be going out for bid by the end of the year,” County Councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi told the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday.

Onishi added that the expanded bridge would “relieve some of the traffic off of the main Panaewa stretch” of Highway 11. He said that relief would result in easier commutes from Puna to Hilo in the morning and from Hilo to Puna in the afternoon.

Estimated cost for the project is $18 million — $12 million in state funds, with the county kicking in $6 million. That funding was approved by the County Council in 2021. The funding allocated by the state in 2021 will lapse by July 2027 if the project does not start.

The widened bridge would accommodate north- and south-bound through lanes. The project also would include a left-turn lane westbound onto Haihai from Kilauea, another left-turn lane northbound from Haihai to Kilauea, bike lanes and shoulders, plus raised sidewalks and buffers on both sides of the bridge.

A traffic signal would be installed at the Kilauea and Haihai intersection. In addition, the east side of the intersection would be widened to accommodate the addition of the northbound and westbound left-turn lanes, and Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible curb ramps are to be installed.

“I feel for the people coming down Haihai and turning left on Kilauea. It’s very crucial, because they have a hard time with the traffic coming in from Puna and going out to Puna,” Onishi said. “It’s a problem for them.”

To widen the bridge, the county would need to acquire about 1.2 acres of adjacent land — 0.9 acres owned by the state and 0.3 acres privately owned — so Kilauea Avenue can be widened along the makai side to accommodate the addition of a left-turn lane to provide safer access to Haihai Street just north of the bridge.

At the south end of the project, Kilauea Avenue would taper from three lanes at the bridge to the width of the existing two-lane roadway about 350 feet south of the bridge.

At the north end of the project, Kilauea Avenue would taper back to the width of the existing two-lane roadway about 350 feet north of the bridge.

The design upgrades are intended to reduce traffic delays, mitigate flood risks and bring safety features up to modern standards.

The project area covers about 8.7 acres, including 3.7 acres around the bridge and 5 acres within the nearby Panaewa Farm Lots, which would serve as a staging area during construction.

The pedestrian walkways will tie into Safe Routes to Schools program improvements planned for a 1.7-mile stretch of Kilauea Avenue between Ohea and Haihai streets.

Construction is expected to take approximately two years to complete. The start of construction will depend on permitting approvals, the project design timeline, and agency consultations.

The project has been in the proposal stage for at least a decade. The state in 2017 appropriated $13 million, but that money lapsed in 2020.

Then-state Rep. Richard Onishi told the Tribune-Herald in 2021 that even though it was a county project, the funding lapse occurred because the state Department of Transportation “decided they were not going to move forward with the project.”

The draft EA starts a 30-day public review and comment period, which ends April 22. The document can be found online at https://bit.ly/4rOTxrt and comments can be emailed to FourMileCreek@haleyaldrich.com.

“I’m just happy it’s moving forward, because it did get lapsed with the funding from the state one time,” Councilman Onishi said.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.