$3M from state to improve stretch of Kalanianaole Avenue

Kalanianaole Avenue in Hilo is on track for an upgrade.

The Hawaii County Council unanimously approved a $3 million grant from the state Department of Transportation during Friday’s council meeting that will go toward the road reconstruction project.

The reconstruction will go from the Ice Pond area to Kauhane Street, a short way past Hilo Harbor, Department of Public Works Director Warren Lee said Friday. This portion of the road is about 1 mile long.

The $3 million in state funding was granted because the DOT owns the section of Kalanianaole near the harbor.

It is only part of what ultimately will be needed to complete the reconstruction project, estimated to cost $11.5 million. The remaining portion of money will come from county funds, Lee said.

“Any time there’s an opportunity to partner with (the DOT), we look forward to it,” he said during the council meeting.

The road has uneven pavement and gravel shoulders, Lee said, and the reconstruction project will install a new roadway as well as curb cuts, sidewalks and bike lanes.

Reconstruction also will address Kalanianaole’s flooding problem by improving drainage.

“The state was just thinking that the pavement needed to be redesigned,” Lee told the council. “But really when you look at it … we want to design it to a complete-street criteria. We certainly want to make our streets walkable.”

The project ties in to an overall plan to create a network of pedestrian and bike-friendly trails throughout downtown Hilo. Recent public works upgrades to Manono Street, for example, connect the university area with downtown.

Concurrent road renovation efforts by the Hilo Bayfront Trails group are expected to begin through the summer. The first phase will build paths along Bayfront, and eventually connect to Manono and Kalanianaole.

Bids for the Kalanianaole project are expected to go out late in the third quarter of this year.

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.