Project would facilitate trail access for wheelchair users
HILO >> A project to make portions of the Lava Tree State Monument trail accessible for wheelchair users will begin Monday.
The park will remain open but portions of the trail will be intermittently closed while work is being done in sections, the Department of Land and Natural Resources announced.
The aim is to reduce the slope to within acceptable limits, create rest stops and install signs to indicate the route and pathway that meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Contractor Site Engineering is handling the $115,600 project. The estimated completion date is July 14.
The Division of State Parks Hawaii district office is contacting tour companies that normally frequent the park to notify them of the work.
Lava Tree State Monument is 2.7 miles southeast of Pahoa in the Puna District. It preserves tall lava molds of tree trunks that were formed when a lava flow swept through a forest of tall ohia trees in 1790.
The easy, 0.7-mile loop passes amid hapuu, uluhe and sword ferns, bird nest ferns and ieie vines.
2 responses to “Project would facilitate trail access for wheelchair users”
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I was there in the 1990s and again just last year. What a difference sixteen years of neglect will do. Back in the 90s the place was open space where one could easily see the lava trees. Now at times you need to look through tall brush and vines to see the trees. Come are completely covered with vines. The place also looks run-down from neglect.
Money talks.