Hawaiian group tries
to stop funds for highwayThe county says that the
Alii Highway will require moving
two historical burials sites
KAILUA-KONA >> The environmental and Hawaiian cultural group Protect Keopuka Ohana is asking the Federal Highway Administration to halt funding of the multimillion-dollar Keauhou-to-Kahului Parkway, better known as Alii Highway, south of Kailua-Kona.
The group says in an Oct. 29 letter to the administration that its members, including descendants of former residents of the area, have not been consulted as required by federal law.
The head of the county Department of Public Works, Bruce McClure, said the project is being carried out according to a 1987 agreement approved by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, among other agencies.
"Data recovery" from archaeological sites is underway and construction has not started, McClure said.
Protect Keopuka Ohana recently obtained a court ruling that stopped the Kona luxury residential project Hokulia. The group was active before that in blocking a related development at nearby Keopuka.
The cost of the two-lane, 4.5-mile parkway intended to relieve traffic congestion has been estimated at about $50 million. Federal money will pay 80 percent of the cost.
According to a county Web site, the road will go through an area containing sites listed on or eligible for the national and state registers of historic places.
Twenty-one burials were found in the right of way, and two of those must be moved a short distance, the Web site says.
