Mauians fear
road may bring
urban sprawl

Upcountry people are cautious,
but shoreline folks welcome plans
for a new state highway

By Gary Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- Residents in upcountry Maui fear that a new road to the Kihei coastline could lead to urban sprawl.

But shoreline residents in south Maui say the proposed Kihei-Upcountry Maui Highway is needed as a second exit for emergencies.

"If there were a tsunami or fire, people who live farther south would have no way of getting out," said Gloria Adlawan, a Kihei resident.

State officials are proposing as choices eight different corridors, ranging from 9 to 10.9 miles and costing from $53.1 million to $86.3 million.

The two-lane highway, which is being planned eventually for four lanes, will take away between 219 and 281 acres of farm land, depending on the choice of corridor.

State transportation officials plan to obtain final approval of the environmental impact statement for the highway by the end of this year and begin a three-year period of construction by 2001.

Officials say the road is needed to serve the growing number of motorists commuting from upcountry communities to tourist-related work in south Maui.

Adlawan, who formerly served on the board of the Kihei Community Association, said residents in south Maui have no strong preferences as far as corridors but do believe a second highway is needed.

Upcountry residents have indicated through their community plan that they want the state's highest priority to be the improvement of existing highways to south Maui.

The plan says if the state decides to build a Kihei-Upcountry Maui Highway, it should choose the alignment at the Haliimaile junction.

Kula Community Association board member Steven Sutrov said the Haliimaile corridor would be the most convenient for those traveling to work from Makawao and Haiku and would place less burden on residential roads such as Makawao Avenue and Lower Kula Highway.

PUBLIC HEARINGS State transportation officials plan hearings to review alternative routes for a proposed Kihei-Upcountry Maui Highway. 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Kihei Community Complex and Aquatic Center. Sept. 30 at Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center.

The Haliimaile route is also the corridor that would have the greatest impact on Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., the largest sugar plantation in the state with 37,000 acres in cultivation.

The corridor would isolate about 1,400 acres of sugar land and remove about 100 acres from sugar cane cultivation, said Meredith Ching, vice president of Hawaiian Commercial's parent company, Alexander & Baldwin Inc.

Ching said the corporation supports the road but has no route preference.

She said the state would have to compensate Hawaiian Commercial and make sure safe access is provided to 1,400 acres of sugar cane land.

Ching said she believes the Kihei-Upcountry Maui Road won't harm the sugar company significantly. "I don't think it's going to threaten our viability. There are ways around it."