Whatever
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Question: What ever happened to the gravel road carved across older Big Island lava flows to provide access to ongoing flows? Big Island lava access road
still open from noon to 10 p.m.By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comAnswer: The road is still open from noon to 10 p.m. every day and continues to provide good views, especially at night, said Hawaii County Deputy Finance Director Nancy Crawford.
The lava moves back and forth from the side of a point of land facing a viewing area to the far side, Crawford said. But even when the lava cannot be seen directly, it makes a lot of steam where it hits the sea, and the glow can be seen at night, she said. Clear views can also be seen of the lava river flowing down an inland slope toward the point.
The road was opened Aug. 17, closed when fresh lava crossed it and reopened on a fee basis on Sept. 8.
Since then, 10,850 cars and 206 commercial vehicles have used the road, Crawford said.
Before Sept. 11 an average of 250 cars a day were visiting the site, she said. That dropped to around 164 a day in September and October, but the number has fallen to 134 a day this month.
The falloff may be due to the absence of passengers who used to come from now-halted interisland ship cruises, Crawford said.
The county is still trying to make the viewing program pay for itself, with the county charging $5 a car and $20 a commercial vehicle, Crawford said. Despite that, the program cost the county $16,000 in September and $10,000 in October, she said.
However, the primary purpose was neither to provide a tourist attraction nor to make money, but to ensure the safety of tourists, who were making potentially dangerous hikes to the area before the road was created, Crawford said.
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