The state is replacing a decaying wooden boardwalk with recycled plastic boards at the Alakai Swamp Trail at Kokee State Park on Kauai.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife’s Na Ala Hele Trail Access program started the $529,000 project May 17 with capital improvement funds allocated in 2014. Due to the ever-changing weather conditions, spokesman Dan Dennison said, a targeted completion date has yet to be determined as staff are working when conditions are favorable.
Twenty years ago, the state built the narrow redwood boardwalk reinforced with chicken wire to provide traction. It provided hiker safety and protected endangered species. Over the years, large sections of the boardwalk have deteriorated due to the elements, posing a safety hazard for hikers.
“There’s some places where portions of the boardwalk dip down in the mud,” Dennison said.
Improving safety and protection to rare species prompted the state to replace nearly 3 miles of the aging 3.5-mile trail.
People who leave the boardwalk can damage native plants, said Kawika Smith, supervisor of Na Ala Hele, in a video interview with DLNR. “This boardwalk did a lot of good in saving a lot of those plants along the trail,” Smith said.
Fifty slingloads of material have been flown via helicopter to the site. The recycled plastic and fiberglass boards — similar to boards used for decks and lanais — are expected to be more stable and have a longer lifespan than wood.
The trail, at nearly a mile in elevation, attracts thousands of people annually. It’s within the Alakai Wilderness Preserve, the world’s highest rain forest and swamp.
It is home to the endangered ope apea, or Hawaiian bat, and Kauai stag beetle. Endangered forest birds including the puaiohi, akikiki and akekee also inhabit the native forest, where there are rare plants such as the kuawawaenohu (Alsinidendron lychnoides), oha wai (Cyanea recta) and lehua makanoe (Lysimachia daphnoides).
