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Ane Keohokalole Highway opens

Kahu Brian Boshard performs a blessing before the maile lei untying for the official opening of the Ane Keohokalole Highway in Kona. Photo by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Kahu Brian Boshard performs a blessing before the maile lei untying for the official opening of the Ane Keohokalole Highway in Kona. Photo by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Aaron Stene | Special to Hawaii 24/7

The weather was extremely overcast and rainy Saturday morning as I was driving to the West Hawaii Civic Center for the Ane Keohokalole Highway dedication. However, it started to clear up when the dedication began around noon.

Ane Keohokalole Highway runs parallel to and about 1 mile mauka of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway from Palani Road to Hina Lani Street in Kaloko.

The boundary between the Keahuolu and Kealakehe ahupuaa, land divisions, is marked on the mauka side of the Ane Keohokalole Highway just South of Kealakehe High School.

The boundary between the Keahuolu and Kealakehe ahupuaa, land divisions, is marked on the mauka side of the Ane Keohokalole Highway just South of Kealakehe High School.

Representatives from each of the four ahupuaa – Keahuolu, Kealakehe, Kaloko, and Honokohau – that bisect this highway gave a presentation that started the dedication ceremony. Then the Keohokalole ohana, who are lineal descendants of Chiefess Ane Keohokalole, blessed it.

Abraham Wong, the Hawaii division administrator for the Federal Highways Administration, spoke about the county’s ability to qualify for stimulus funding and commended the county for bringing diverse groups together to make this highway a reality.

Frank Okimoto, vice president of Nan Inc, talked about the challenges this project faced and the benefits of the new highway, such as opening up additional areas for development and the
economic stimulus this will bring.

LeAnn Crabbe, vice president of the Queen Liliuokalani Trust, was up next. She talked about the highway connecting communities and the $1 million cultural interpretive center under construction off Kamakaeha Avenue. This center is slated to open later this year.

Hawaii County recently gave Nan a 35 working day extension to complete this facility.

Bus stops along the mauka side of Ane Keohokalole Highway.

Bus stops along the mauka side of Ane Keohokalole Highway.

Ane Keohokalole Highway also will facilitate development of the state’s Kamakana Village affordable-housing project, commercial development by the Queen Liliuokalani Trust to support children’s programs, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ expansion of Laiopua Village and its planned community center.

Delbert Nishimoto, speaking on behalf of Sen. Dan Inouye, read a letter from the senator. Inouye said he was appreciative of the cooperation between numerous stake holders, which allowed this project to materialize.

In addition, Inouye extended a special recognition to Bobby Command, Mayor Billy Kenoi’s executive assistant, and Wally Lau, the mayor’s managing director, for their hard work.

“One of the interesting things that came out of this was because it was a time crunch, everyone pulled together from all levels of government and all the different agencies,” said John Chung, vice president and chief engineer of project planner Belt Collins Hawaii. “A project like this wouldn’t have gotten done in under a year without a lot of cooperation. It was very refreshing to see.”

Kenoi was the last speaker at the dedication. He also thanked his team, especially Command, for its dedication and overcoming challenges. It typically takes around two years to obtain all the clearances to construct a roadway, but Kenoi’s team did it within eigth months.

“This is probably the most satisfying project we’ve built because it was the most challenging, and yet the most successful in terms of bringing people together,” Kenoi said. “It alleviates and mitigates the congestion that West Hawaii has experienced for many years. It allows people to spend less time in traffic and more time at home with their families. It allows the creation of a thriving, vibrant community here in Kealakehe, in Kaloko, in Honokohau, and in Keahuolu.”

Kenoi continued: “I believe the Ane Keohokalole Highway serves as a template to show us how to address cultural concerns, burial issues, environmental concerns, and incorporate that into good design and good planning. But more important was the community input and community guidance.”

The Ane Keohokalole Highway was originally a 1.8 mile roadway from Palani Road to Kealakehe Parkway. Nan’s original $29.9 million contract also included the mass grading between Kealakehe Parkway and Hina-Lani Street and the reconstruction of a 0.3 mile segment of Palani Road.

However, the county and the contractor were able to keep it significantly under budget. This allowed Nan to pave an additional 1.1 miles of roadway between Hina-Lani Street and Kealakehe Parkway.

“There were a lot of uncertainties in the beginning. None of us involved had ever built a road quite like this. This is the first concrete paved road on the Island of Hawaii, and the first major roadway construction project in over 20 years,” said Alex Leonard, project manager for Nan Inc. “A lot of people in the community have been looking forward to this for a long time.”

The highway represents the largest expenditure of American Recovery & Reinvestment Act money for transportation infrastructure in Hawaii. It is also the first major road in Kona to be built by Hawaii County since statehood. Ground was broken on the first phase March 30, 2010.

About 300 members of the public attended the blessing, followed by lunch, entertainment and a family fun run.

About Ane Keohokalole

The new highway is named for Chiefess Ane Keohokalole, a descendant of chiefs and the mother of two Hawaiian monarchs.
Keohokalole was born in 1816 in Kona.

Her paternal lineage traces back to Kameeiamoku and Keaweaheulu, Kona chiefs who supported Kamehameha during his quest to unite Hawaii Island before going on to unite all the islands of Hawaii.

Keohokalole married Caesar Kapaakea and had 10 children – among them King Kalakaua, Queen Liliuokalani, Princess Likelike, and Prince Leleiohoku, collectively known as Na Lani Eha (The Royal Four).

With the lands that she inherited from her mother Keohokalole, Queen Liliuokalani established the Queen Liliuokalani Trust as an enduring gift to Hawaii’s people, to serve orphaned and destitute children. A large portion of the land for the highway was donated by the trust.

(Photo special to Hawaii 24/7 by Aaron Stene)

One Response to “Ane Keohokalole Highway opens”

  1. JM says:

    Yep…new roads bring new development…which brings more traffic…congestion…and ultimately more roads. And the same wheel keeps going round and round. Ultimately, the beauty of an area is replaced with concrete and quality of life suffers.

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