saddle-road-update 09
Saddle Road Supplemental EIS Hearings
Dec. 9, 2009 – 5:00 p.m. – Hilo, HI
Dec. 10, 2009 – 3:30 p.m. – Kailua-Kona, HI
The State Department of Transportation in corporation with the Federal Highway Administration will hold public hearings on December 9, 2009, at 5:00p.m. at Aunty Sally’s Luau Hale in Hilo, Hawaii and on December 10, at 3:30pm, in the Natural Energy Laboratory Authority of Hawaii’s Gateway Center Conference Room, 73-4460 Queen Ka‘ahumanu Hwy, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for the purpose of receiving evidence and testimony relating to the realignment of Saddle Road (State Route 200) Mamalahoa Highway (State Route 190) to Milepost 41, County of Hawai‘i, State of Hawai’i, FHWA Project No. 200(00), Ke‘?muku, South Kohala District, Hawai‘i Island, State of Hawai‘i. TMK (3rd): 6-7-001-003.
Interested persons will be heard particularly with reference to the social, economic and environmental impacts of the highway improvements being considered. The public hearing will also discuss the proposed highway realignment and its anticipated schedule for construction.
If you have any concerns or an active interest in this project, we urge you to attend and participate at this meeting. To request language interpretation, an auxiliary aid service
(i.e., sign language interpreter, accessible parking, or materials in alternative format), contact Dina Lau at (808) 587-6307 (voice only) fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting dates. TTY users may use TRS to contact our office.
Persons unable or desiring not to appear at the public hearing may file a signed statement presenting their views on this project. Such statements should be submitted up to and including January 7, 2010, and should be addressed to:
Mr. Ken Tatsuguchi
Head Planning Engineer
State of Hawai‘i, Department of Transportation
Highways Division, Planning Branch
869 Punchbowl Street, Room 301
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813.
or, by email, to: Ken.Tatsuguchi@hawaii.gov
Ala Mauna - Saddle Road Dedication
Mile Post 34 - 42
Hilo, Hawaii - Members of the Saddle Road Task Force, a citizen advisory group, federal, state and county government officials, and island residents will gathered on Tuesday August 18, 2009 to dedicate seven miles of highway and the next segment , Phase 3, of Ala Mauna Saddle Road.
U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye will serve as the Keynote Speaker at the dedication. Federal Highway Administrator, Rick Suarez, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi, Walter Kunitake of the Saddle Road Task Force and Brennon Morioka of State Department of Transportation are all invited to attend this special ceremony and share how important this East- West connector is to Hawaii Island. This is phase of the newly aligned Ala Mauna Saddle Road will now complete roughly 24 miles of highway for Hawaii Island.
Saddle Road Construction Project
Ala Mauna - Saddle Road, the most direct route between the east and west sides of the island, is the shortest route, yet carries one of the highest accident rates of any road of its classification in Hawai‘i. The Saddle Road improvement project will make the road safer and easier to use by eliminating narrow lanes, limited lines of sight, numerous roadside hazards such as bridge parapets, rough road edges, and limited drainage during rain storms and military vehicles frequently crossing the road as it passes through the Pohakuloa Training Area.
Ala Mauna Saddle Road History and Use
Ala Mauna, the traditional name for this early transportation route, served native uses of the Humu‘ula area of Hawai‘i island including bird catching and adze quarrying. They were replaced by sandalwood harvesting and hunting wild cattle, and ultimately by ranching and astronomy. Over time, travelers whose only choice was once ancient footpaths, shifted to horses and wagons, then to automobiles. Roadways were improved and travel time shortened.
In 1943, the original Saddle Road was built as a gravel roadway first constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the US Army Corps of Engineers for access to the island’s interior in the event of a Japanese invasion during World War II. Then in 1949 the Saddle Road was completed as a paved road.
What began as a military access road has since become an important cross-island link between East and West Hawaii. Saddle Road also provides the only paved access to Mauna Kea Science Reserve International Observatory Complex, Pohakuloa Training Area Base, Mauna Kea State Park as well as access to public lands and forest areas for hunting, gathering and ranching.
Construction funding for the Saddle Road improvement project is being made available from several sources: U.S. Department of the Army, Defense Access Road Program and Ecosystem Management Program, U.S. Congress, and Hawaii Department of Transportation. Construction of the remainder of the Saddle Road project will be phased as funds become available.