2-lane emergency route in national park approved

HILO » The National Park Service agreed Friday to allow a 5.4-mile stretch of Chain of Craters Road to be reconstructed as a two-lane evacuation route in the event lava cuts through two other emergency access roads in Puna.

The lava-covered road is one of three routes being constructed in the event the most recent lava flow from Kilauea Volcano cuts off access to the more than 8,000 residents of Lower Puna — which could occur in a matter of weeks.

As of Friday the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the active flow front consisted of three narrow lobes totaling about 202 yards wide. The leading edge of the lava advanced downslope by 125 yards since Oct. 8. The flow front is less than a mile upslope from Apaa Street, where lava is anticipated to hit in about 18 days.

It’s also measured about 1.5 miles from Pahoa Village Road.

Since Oct. 3 the average advancing rate of the lava is about 94 yards a day, but that number continues to vary.

And while county officials and scientists believe the projection is subject to change again, Pahoa resident The­resa Zen­de­jas says she and her neighbors have no other choice but to take it one day at a time.

"There’s nothing we can do. You have to let nature do what it has to do. Everyone on my street, we have to just go with the flow," she said.

If lava cuts through the other emergency routes, Chain of Craters Road would be the only access to and from the area.

Nearly 8 miles of the road is covered by lava rock from past flows and needs to be rebuilt. Park service officials had been insisting that the 5.4 miles within the boundaries of park be a single lane to reduce damage to ancient archaeological sites and endangered species.

Cindy Orlando, superintendent of Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park, said the park originally received approval for an 18-foot-wide road and that deciding to make it a single lane was never intended to hinder access. "With all this new information, when we looked at some of the design issues, we realized that a wider road, 22 feet, that would accommodate two-way traffic regularly would have less impact than our initial proposal," she said.

Orlando said the park service next will work on an environmental impact analysis and consult further with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Department.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi announced the park service decision during a telephone conference with the media Friday afternoon.

Schatz said the decision means that construction work may be federally reimbursed and that the road will still be in line with the National Environmental Policy Act.

Hawaii County spokes­man Kevin Dayton said construction is estimated at $7 million to $10 million for the national park’s portion of the road. That compares with $4 million to $6 million for the state portion of Chain of Craters Road recently turned over to the county. The cost for rebuilding 1.2 miles of the road on the Kala­pana side is estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million.

The roadwork could take 45 to 60 days to complete, but Kenoi said the work would be done more quickly if need be. "If necessary, construction will be expedited," he said.