Question: Whatever happened to the Leeward Bikeway, a 14-mile route from Ewa to Nanakuli that was in the works during the early 2000s?
Answer: The first phase of the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization’s project, for the first 4.2 miles of the bikeway, is scheduled to begin construction in the 2014 fiscal year, which begins July 1, said City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine. It will run from Waipio Access Road to Ewa’s Hawaiian Railway Society Train Station on Renton Road. The land was formerly owned by the federal government as a right-of-way for the Oahu Railway and Land Co. and was returned to Hawaii in 1980.
The Hawaii Bicycling League is planning to ride along the entire Leeward coastal path in August to provide the state Department of Transportation with information about road intersections, said league Executive Director Chad Taniguchi.
"We’ve been looking forward to (the bike path) for 10 years now," he said.
Construction had been postponed because of the historic preservation laws surrounding train tracks that run east to west along the projected route. The Hawaiian Railway Society had the 19th-century train tracks from Ewa to Nanakuli placed on the state and national registers of historic places. The society maintains old trains for scenic, historical tours.
The project’s first segment will meet the existing West Loch bike path at the train station, said Brian Gibson, executive director of OMPO. The West Loch path runs about two miles and will join the 8.3-mile second segment.
The completed path will ultimately connect Ewa and Nanakuli and "use 9 to 10 feet of the 40-foot wide railroad right-of-way," Pine said. The 8.3-mile segment will go from the end of the West Loch trail in Ewa to Nanakuli’s Lualualei Naval Road. There is no projected start date for Phase 2, Gibson said.
Since it will be a multiuse path, animals, rollerskaters, skateboarders and others should be allowed to use the roadway, Gibson said.
The goal of the Leeward Bikeway is to provide pedestrians and bicyclists with a safe transportation alternative, preventing the injuries and deaths that stem from sharing the highway with autos. The cost of the construction, estimated at $14 million, would be shared between the Federal Highway Administration, which will provide 80 percent of the funding, and the state Department of Transportation, which will pay for the remaining 20 percent. Most of the funds will be used for construction of bridges, which cost about $1 million each.
The state met the archaeological survey requirements for construction, but meeting historical preservation concerns at the federal level is pending. There also may be some problems involving right-of-way laws, Gibson said.
The state Department of Transportation must consider the potential effect on a site on the National Register of Historic Places.
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This update was written by Amy Busek. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.
