To ease traffic congestion, state Department of Transportation officials announced they will be making improvements to Kapolei Parkway at the Fort Barrette Road intersection near Kapolei High School.
The state, in coordination with the city, will be modifying Kapolei Parkway lanes between Kunehi and Maluohai streets in both directions approaching Fort Barrette Road. The change will allow drivers to make both a left turn and go straight from the existing left-turn-only lanes onto Fort Barrette Road.
Officials are scheduled to close the left-turn lanes for re-striping work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
City Department of Transportation Services Director Mike Formby and state DOT Highways Division Deputy Director Ed Sniffen said in a statement Thursday that due to the congestion at the Fort Barrette Road intersection, the modified lanes will allow more vehicles to pass through during each traffic light cycle.
The heat in Hilo ties and breaks weather marks
The high temperature in Hilo on Sunday tied the record for the date.
The high was 87 degrees, tying the record set in 1968, the National Weather Service said.
A record high was recorded in Hilo on Saturday.
It was 88 degrees in Hilo, which broke the previous record of 87 for that date, set in 1995.
On Friday the high temperature in Hilo was 87, tying the record set in 1974, the weather service said.
Foreign flights to land at Kona if bill is enacted
KAILUA-KONA » Kona Airport may soon be able to accept international travelers again thanks to a few words in a Homeland Security funding bill.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, said he added language to the bill that would give U.S. Customs and Border Protection more flexibility and possibly allow it to staff the Kona Airport again, West Hawaii Today reported.
A structure processed international arrivals in the past, but it hasn’t been used in more than five years because of security concerns.
The bill should be finalized in September, and Schatz said the language has already been approved by a subcommittee that deals with tourism. Schatz is chairman of the subcommittee.
"We’re hopeful right now," Schatz said. "We’ve been encouraged by the support. This issue is very important to the Big Island."
