THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

235

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of transportation to evaluate kuakini highway and queen kaahumanu highway between henry street and kamehameha iii road on hawaii island and conduct a feasibility study regarding traffic reduction by widening the highway or other alternative means.

 

 


     WHEREAS, the island of Hawaii is experiencing growth in population and as a result, an increase in difficulties generated by a significant growth in traffic; and

 

     WHEREAS, vehicle traffic on Kuakini Highway between Lako Street and Kamehameha III Road on Hawaii island typically causes traffic jams lasting several consecutive hours in the mornings and evenings; and

 

     WHEREAS, North Kona's population spiked by almost four thousand people to nearly forty-two thousand in total from 2010 through 2016, causing additional traffic on Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway; and

 

     WHEREAS, relieving the bottleneck where the Queen Kaahumanu and Kuakini Highways merge is necessary for the community's safety; and

 

     WHEREAS, S.B. No. 1011, Regular Session of 2021, proposes to appropriate funds to the Department of Transportation to widen Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kuakini Highway; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Senate Committee on Transportation found that the rapidly growing population in west Hawaii has contributed to consistent vehicle traffic on Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kuakini Highway; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation initiated a study that determined that widening Kuakini Highway from two to four lanes would require land acquisitions from over one hundred fifty property owners and funding in excess of $150,000,000; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation terminated the Kuakini Highway widening study due to the project's infeasibility; and

 

     WHEREAS, easing traffic at one of Kona's most frustrating pinch points on Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway between Henry Street and Kamehameha III Road is in the best safety and public welfare interests of the State; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is requested to evaluate Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway between Henry Street and Kamehameha III Road on Hawaii island and conduct a feasibility study regarding traffic reduction by widening the highway or other alternative means; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in exploring other alternative means of traffic reduction, the Department of Transportation is requested to consider repainting traffic lanes from fourteen feet to ten feet; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is urged to place on its priority list the Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway project under the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and provide a report on how to reclassify the project as a safety project, including any proposed legislation and recommendations; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to submit its report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation and Mayor of the County of Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Department of Transportation; Kuakini Highway; Traffic; Study; Hawaii Island; Statewide Transportation Improvement Program