HILO » Proponents of the Hokulia Bypass highway in South Kona passed one legal road roadblock but could have a few more ahead.

The state Supreme Court turned down last week a request by the Coupe family to block construction where the highway would cross the family's property south of the 1,550-acre Hokulia residential development.

However, the high court ordered more hearings by a lower court in Kona on whether Hawaii County wants a portion of the Coupe land merely as a “;pretext”; to benefit a private residential development, as the family contends.

The 5.4-mile road is needed to relieve the area's traffic, which slows to a near halt during afternoon rush hours, Hawaii County public works officials say.

County attorney Lincoln Ashida said past rulings by Kona Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra suggest there was no pretext.

The Supreme Court gave a partial victory to the Coupes by ordering the county to pay their legal expenses incurred while fighting the first of two actions by the county attempting to condemn their land for the road.

The road issue is an outgrowth of the residential development, which caused controversy and lawsuits for several years but was settled in 2006. Building of the bypass road by Hokulia developer Oceanside 1250, required by county-issued permits, has dragged on.

The $40 million, northern 3.3 miles have been substantially completed and by May will be open three hours per day during afternoon rush hour. During hours when the road is not open, final construction will be ongoing, said Hokulia President John De Fries.

Partial opening is expected to draw away a third of the 2,000-plus cars that pass through a traffic choke point in Kainaliu, public works officials said.

Cars now need up to 45 minutes to crawl through that choke point during rush hour, officials said.

Construction of the $35 million, southern 2.1 miles will depend on hearings before Judge Ibarra.

Meanwhile, residential sales in Hokulia have been halted since March due to company restructuring, De Fries said. Sales are expected to resume in the third quarter of 2009, he said. Six homes have been completed in the luxury development, and five more are under construction, he said.