For Ewa-Kapolei residents, the new North-South Road is a godsend.

The much-awaited 2.2-mile roadway, renamed Kualakai Parkway, finally opened to motorists yesterday after 20 years of planning. About 100 people at a dedication ceremony celebrated the new thoroughfare, which includes an interchange and a four-lane highway that stretches from Kapolei Parkway, Farrington Highway and the H-1 freeway.

Officials chose Kualakai as the name for the roadway because it connects and unites two communities: Ewa and Kapolei, said Brennon Morioka, director of the state Department of Transportation. The Hawaiian word traditionally means to unite new people in a new land.

“;It's no longer Kapolei and Ewa. It becomes the Kapolei-Ewa region,”; said Morioka.

Eighty-percent of the $155 million project was paid for by the federal government, and the remaining cost with state funds. Officials broke ground on the project five years ago.

In the last two years, more than 200 Goodfellow Bros. Inc. employees worked to fast-track the project, sometimes around the clock, to gear up for the upcoming development of the University of Hawaii-West Oahu and the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center.

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Kualaka'i Parkway is not just about commuters looking to get home sooner, but also future improvement plans for Oahu's second city.

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Morioka said the project was completed at least four years ahead of schedule. If all goes well, construction of UH-West Oahu will begin in August, and the community center is scheduled to open next year.

The need for another highway was evident as the rapid growth of residential developments in the '90s caused a traffic nightmare for daily commuters who live in Ewa Beach and Kapolei. A group of community members and officials that included state Sen. Will Espero (D, Ewa, Honouliuli-Ewa Beach) tackled the issue and made it a priority. “;It's very satisfying and gratifying to see it done,”; Espero said.

With Fort Weaver Road widened and Kualakai Parkway completed, area residents now have six lanes to enter and exit Ewa Beach. “;That's an enormous, positive benefit for the community,”; Espero said. “;The transportation infrastructure is catching up to the growth in homes that we've had in the last decade. It will certainly provide much traffic relief for commuters in Kapolei and Ewa.”;

Community members who played a vital role in pushing for the project were elated that all their hard work paid off. “;It's been a long time coming,”; said Ewa Beach resident Tesha Malama, who was involved in the project for 15 years as a member of the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization.