The state will receive a $2.5 million federal grant to repair and reopen an emergency evacuation route for Oahu’s Leeward Coast.

Kolekole Pass Road in Waianae provides an alternate route if the sole highway in and out of the coast is shutdown during an emergency or natural disaster. A part of the road was closed after heavy rains eroded the hillside and washed out the pavement earlier this year.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Transportation grant is to be used to install a pre-fabricated bridge over the washed-out area while engineers work to permanently repair the road.

Inouye says Oahu’s west side is the fastest-growing segment of the state and infrastructure is struggling to keep pace.