New Hawaii-Kai Route To Save Kuapa Homes

Every Sunday, “Back in the Day” looks at an article that ran on this date in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The items are verbatim, so don’t blame us today for yesteryear’s bad grammar.

State transportation department officials said today they have reduced their recommendations for through routes in the proposed Hawaii-Kai subdivision to two out of four designs.

Neither of the selected pair jeopardizes the homes on Kuapa causeway off Maunalua Bay.

The two routes that were eliminated today were routes that were proposed for construction either on the mauka or makai side of the causeway at Kuapa.

These would have used the present alignments and would have involved widening of the highway.

Tim Ho, transportation director, said he will call a meeting with Kuapa residents tomorrow morning to explain the state’s positions on the proposed realignment of Kalanianaole Highway.

Ho explained the cost factors and engineering problems involved in the four routes at a press conference today.

All of the routes are meant to service the Koko Head end of Oahu, where Henry J. Kaiser plans to build the Hawaii-Kai suburban development with Bishop Estate.

The routes start just before Kuapa pond, bend around Mauka of Koko crater and continue on to the highway at Sandy Beach.

From the engineering standpoint, the route mauka of Kuapa pond would be the best choice, Ho said. 

From the land use viewpoint, however, it would be lease favorable to the Hawaii-Kai developers because the highway would cut right through the proposed Maunalua Marina subdivision.

The mauka route would cost a total of $8.5 million, including $3.37 million for rights-of-way acquisition.

The route makai of the Kuapa homes would extend seaward of the present highway up to a point just past Portlock Road.

The homes would be safe from condemnation and the road would swing behind Koko crater to meet with the shoreline drive at Sandy Beach.

The makai route is estimated to cost $10.8 million, including $3.6 million for rights-of-way acquisitions.

However, Bishop Estate has indicated it may dedicate the land free to the state, thus reducing the makai route costs to about $7.1 million, Ho said.