Access to the Mauna Loa Observatory could be restored by next April, more than two years after the eruption of its namesake volcano cut it off from the rest of the island.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s atmospheric monitoring station on Mauna Loa lost its only access road during the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa. During the volcano’s 13-day eruption, the river of lava it produced covered about 1.2 miles of the Mauna Loa Observatory Access Road at two locations.
Since then, researchers have been only able to access the observatory via helicopter, with about four staff members flying in once a week. And with power lines to the observatory also cut off by lava, the facility has been running at a significantly reduced capacity.
That could all change next year, however. NOAA filed with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources an application for permits to design and construct a temporary roadway atop the cooled lava.
According to a report by the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the proposed project would be an unpaved road cut through the existing lava flows that will match the course of the actual road “to the maximum extent practicable.”
The report stated that in a “maximum disturbance scenario,” the contractor could bulldoze the flow all the way down to the elevation of the existing roadway, with roadside grading allowing for a 1-foot shoulder on either side.
However, a final design has not yet been drafted.
Because the project is technically considered to be the repair, maintenance or reconstruction of an existing roadway, it does not require an environmental assessment, the report concludes.
Consequently, construction could begin quickly, and the report anticipates the work could wrap up by April.
While the cost of the project was not specified in the report, NOAA published a presolicitation notice for the project in May estimating a range between $3 million and $5 million.
The BLNR approved NOAA’s application on Sept. 30 with no discussion. However, the matter will have to return to the BLNR once a final design is selected.
Representatives of NOAA did not respond to requests for comment.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.