State officials say they’ll have to relocate the 450-foot-tall radio tower near the Kapalama Canal in the next several years to help make way for more harbor capacity — but where the tower will go hasn’t been decided.

The public will have a chance to learn more and weigh in on where it’d like to see the iHeart Radio Broadcast Tower during a meeting Thursday at Farrington High School cafeteria held by the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Harbors Division.

For more than 30 years the tower has rested near the corner of Dillingham Boulevard and Kokea Street, and four AM radio stations — including KSSK-AM 590 — and one FM radio station (93.9 The Beat) broadcast from there, according to DOT spokesman Tim Sakahara.

The tower needs to move, Sakahara explained, because the emergency flight path for planes descending into Honolulu Airport could be affected once new, permanent cranes go up nearby as part of the long-anticipated Kapalama Container Terminal project. As those cranes go up, “removing the tower would provide a wider path” for planes making emergency descents, he said.

Moving the tower will likely involve a five-year process, and DOT is starting that effort by looking into feasibility and selecting a site, Sakahara said. So far the state agency has considered 22 potential sites and eliminated six of them, he said. Sakahara did not specify by end of day Tuesday where the sites still in the running are located.

Any site for the tower ideally would be close to Oahu’s shoreline, provide a signal that reaches across the entire island, offer 10 to 15 acres of flat land and not be next to other tall structures, among other criteria, Sakahara said.

The DOT also needs to ensure that the KSSK signal is smoothly relocated because it’s one of the state’s civil defense emergency alert system broadcasters, according to the DOT.

Thursday’s public meeting, at 1564 N. King St., will start with a 4 p.m. open house, followed by a 6 p.m. briefing and question-and-answer period, according to the DOT.