Laniakea Barriers to be removed to allow for shoreline certification

Laniakea Barriers to be removed to allow for shoreline certification Main, News Posted on Sep 24, 2019 in Highways News

HONOLULU – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) informs the public that the concrete barriers that have been stored along Kamehameha Highway at Laniakea will be removed for a shoreline certification to allow for future safety improvements.

The removal is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 25 through Friday, Sept. 27, 2019. Motorists should exercise caution as the vehicles carrying the barriers enter and leave the area.

This shoreline certification is needed to determine whether HDOT must follow the City’s Special Management Area (SMA) permitting processes or the Conservation District Use Application (CDUA) permitting processes. For a copy of the Department and Land and Natural Resources Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order regarding HDOT’s 2017 certification request, please click here.

The removal of the barriers from Laniakea does not change HDOT’s position that restricting parking on the mauka side of Kamehameha Highway at Laniakea is the most immediate option for improving safety and congestion in the area. HDOT will continue to work with the City and County of Honolulu on expedited safety solutions.

HDOT continues to abide by the First Circuit Court decision in Civil Case No. 14-1-0005-01.

The court order says:

“…they [the barriers] shall not be reinstalled, in whole or in part, by DOT in the Park Area unless and until

“(1) DOT has complied with all requirements of the law in order to install such barriers, or

“(2) the City lawfully directs the installation of traffic barriers on the Park Area as part of the City’s determination of the permitted and duly authorized usage of its own park land or

“(3) until further order of the court.”

As a long-term safety measure, HDOT is pursuing environmental clearances to move Kamehameha Highway at Laniakea mauka within the highway Right-of-way to allow for beach access on the makai side of the road. This measure is estimated to cost between $6-8 million and would take approximately 2-years to obtain the necessary environmental clearances.

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