Whatever Happened To...
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Transit plan holds up Salt Lake project
Question: What ever happened to the Salt Lake Boulevard widening project?
Answer: Construction on the last segment of the widening project from Maluna Street to Ala Lilikoi Street is being postponed until a design is created to incorporate the Salt Lake Boulevard widening with the proposed mass transit plan.
A segment of the Salt Lake Boulevard widening project from Bougainville Drive to Maluna Street was completed in August 2005.
The final phase of the widening project is being removed from a list of transportation projects funded by federal highway money scheduled for 2008-2011 because there are more projects on the list than there are funds to pay for them.
But city officials said the intent is to put the project back on track for the funding after 2011 once more definite plans are ready for the initial 20-mile transit route, which includes a segment along the Salt Lake Boulevard widening site.
Before councilmembers approved the transit project, construction on the last segment of widening project was to begin by 2011, which is around the time the transit project may be under construction. The design for the last widening segment, however, did not take into account the alignment of the transit route, said Toru Hamayasu, chief planner of the Department of Transportation Services.
"The construction for the Salt Lake widening should wait until final design for the transit is completed," Hamayasu said, so that the widening can be done in the right sequence.
But some Salt Lake residents are miffed that the city wants to defer the widening project because the community has waited more than 20 years for its completion.
This update was written by Star-Bulletin staff.
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