Big expansion of Hilo Harbor entrance still in the works – West Hawaii Today

A $62 million plan to expand the entrance to Hilo Harbor still needs some time in the oven.

The state Department of Transportation last year received $15 million to acquire several privately owned parcels on Kalanianaole Street for the project.

The five parcels under consideration are directly adjacent to the harbor property and would allow DOT to develop additional traffic lanes between Kuhio and Kahana streets and more off-street space for semitrucks. The buildings on those parcels would be demolished.

According to a draft environmental assessment published in June 2023, expanding the entrance to the harbor is necessary to alleviate the heavy traffic in the area, where cargo vehicles, cruise ship passengers and nearby school traffic all frequently coincide.

The draft EA states the project would allow the harbor to separate cargo traffic and cruise ship passengers and improve emergency escape routes out of Keaukaha.

The final draft EA was scheduled for release by the end of 2023. More than halfway through 2024, that final draft has not been published, although DOT has stated it’s coming soon.

DOT spokeswoman Shelly Kunishige said the final draft should be published this fall, adding that the delay was because the consultants writing the report are taking into account the large amount of public testimony submitted during the draft assessment’s public comment period.

While that public testimony is still not publicly available, the project was unpopular among Keaukaha property owners during public outreach efforts last year. The five parcels being considered for state acquisition total 9.38 acres, and are home to several businesses that would be displaced if the project goes through as written.

During a public hearing about the draft assessment last year, Greg Gadd — who owns or controls four of the five parcels — said the state has undervalued the land. The assessment estimated that the five parcels together are worth $15 million to $17 million.

The draft EA states that DOT can acquire the parcels via condemnation, wherein the state can seize private property for a project, with due compensation to the owners.

Nani Vermillion, agent for Gadd’s Big Island Homes and Land, said via email earlier this month there has been no further communication from the state about the project since last year.

The five parcels include a trio of lots just over 1 acre each on the downtown Hilo side of the harbor entrance, and a 5.55-acre and a 0.74-acre parcel on the Keaukaha side.

Establishments on those parcels include Maikai Auto Body &Paint, Hilo Auto Sales &Rentals, Hilo Food Hub, Ocean Front Kitchen, Service Rentals and Supplies Inc., and Zion’s House of Praise Holiness Church.

The assessment acknowledges the businesses within the parcels will have to relocate or cease to exist, but adds that they will have more than two years to do so before any demolition takes place.

The document estimated that once the final assessment is published, acquisition of the parcels would be completed within two years, with design and construction to begin subsequently and take two to three years.

Based on that time frame, the assessment estimated the project would be completed by 2029. But because that estimate was predicated on the assumption that the final assessment would be published by the end of 2023, the actual completion date is presumably 2030 or beyond.

The full project cost, including the cost of acquiring the parcels, is estimated to be around $62 million.

Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.