Temporary span frees Kipahulu
Rain and earthquakes closed Paihi Bridge, cutting off the town from its neighbors
WAILUKU » Cars started rolling and people celebrated yesterday as government officials opened a temporary bridge to reconnect once-isolated Kipahulu to the rest of Maui.
The temporary bridge opened yesterday afternoon after a blessing attended by officials, including Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa, and scores of Kipahulu residents.
"It's really good," Kipahulu resident Caroline Rost, 84, said in a phone interview. "Everybody's happy about all the help that's been given."
The temporary bridge replaces the damaged Paihi Bridge that was closed after earthquakes and torrential rains in mid-October.
John Lind, another Kipahulu resident, said he was pleased with the response of federal, state and county officials who brought in emergency assistance, including food, fuel, an ice-maker and a generator.
"The county did a good job. They sent in good people," Lind said.
Lind said the county is giving the community the use of the ice-maker but that residents don't know whether they'll be able to keep the generator.
Lind said he hopes the community will be able to have a generator in case there is another emergency. Residents said the emergency sharpened their wilderness skills, including their knowledge of fishing and hunting, and also made people work as a group.
"That bridge went bring the community closer together," Sam Akoi said.
Akoi said the damaged bridge was a major hardship for families. He said many residents were forced to wake up a couple of hours earlier than normal to walk for 30 minutes, cross the damaged bridge and connect with a ride on the Hana side to get to work. He walked with his 11-year-old daughter so she could get to school.
Lind said the temporary bridge also will reopen the rural community to tourists, including the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the pools of Oheo at Haleakala National Park each year.
"The traffic is going to start coming in. ... They're going to come whether you like it or not," he said.