Plans to replace the Four Mile Creek Bridge are unlikely to come to fruition before 2028.
The bridge, located at the south end of Kilauea Avenue in Hilo, is a century-old, single-lane span that nonetheless carries thousands of vehicles each day to and from Highway 11.
In order to reduce the extensive traffic congestion in the area, Hawaii County has planned for years to replace the bridge with a more suitable structure. In 2021, the County Council approved an $18 million allocation — $12 million from the state and $6 million from the county — to build a two-lane reinforced bridge at the site.
The project also would expand the nearby intersection of Kilauea Avenue and Haihai Street to allow for safer turns onto either road.
Since that funding was awarded, progress has been slow. A public meeting was held in 2023 to discuss the project, but Department of Public Works spokeswoman Sherise Kanae-Kane said via email in December design work for the bridge still has not been completed.
While the tentative timeline presented at the 2023 meeting optimistically suggested the project could go out to bid by the fall of 2025 — putting the completion date around April 2027, following about 18 months of construction — that schedule seems untenable. Kanae-Kane said in December construction is now estimated to start by the first quarter of 2027.
Kanae-Kane said environmental permitting and an environmental assessment are the steps contributing to the project’s long lead time, but didn’t suggest when those steps might be completed.
There is one deadline for the project getting closer. The funding allocated by the state in 2021 will lapse by July 2027 if the project does not start.
State Rep. Sue Lee Loy of Hilo, who strongly advocated for the bridge during her time as a Hilo councilwoman, said she is continuing to monitor the project and advocate for her constituents. In particular, she said, the project is important for health and safety.
“We have to make room to spare to accommodate the fire trucks coming down from the Haihai Fire Station,” Lee Loy said, explaining that the Haihai/Kilauea intersection is too narrow to handle the trucks’ turning radius.
“The community has been asking for this since eight years ago,” Lee Loy said.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.