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POLL: “Which Kahului Runway Repair Option Do You Prefer?”

January 23rd, 2012 · 20 Comments · Comments Via Facebook (0) · Opinion and Analysis
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By David Kvasnicka

kahului-runway-repair-roadway

Image highlighting a proposed project concurrent with the runway repair issue. Photo courtesy of DOT.

It emerged recently that the Federal Aviation Authority would no longer fund patch maintenance of Kahului Airport’s primary runway, prompting Hawaii to perform a full repair.

Since then, the state Department of Transportation has been working with various stakeholders to resolve the situation. Three main options have emerged, and are listed below.

It should be noted that the FAA will pay for 75% of the cost of the repair project, while the other 25% will come from “airport user fees” (according to DOT).

The DOT says the economic impact of a complete shutdown for two months of all wide-body aircraft could result in a large reduction in tourists (50%, HTA figure) and potentially cost up to $350 million (Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism figure). Subsequent options are designed to mitigate or eliminate the cost to the local economy.

The issue is to be discussed in a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Pomaikai Elementary School Cafeteria (note: this story was published 1/23/2012, this meeting has since taken place), where options will be presented. The community will have an opportunity to have input in the decision.

See full story on Kahului runway meeting here.

Which Kahului Runway Repair Option Do You Prefer?


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Editor's Note:Maui Now is an open forum and we welcome any views. However, please apply your sense of aloha when posting comments - remarks that are unnecessarily offensive will be blocked.

 
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  • Christa 1

    It is a safety issue and needs to be completed. Time and care should be taken and not a rush! That said, I say avoid the stoppage, in order to keep tourist dollars rolling in.

  • Mike96753

    They need to use the KAHANA airport most people go in and out of there anyway from Lahania. It makes the most logical decision.

    • Maui yeahyeah

      The West Maui Airport isn’t suitable for widebody planes.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/XTV3WGXYPGKYW7FLREN7E5IRGA xeclectic79x

    You get what you pay for.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/XTV3WGXYPGKYW7FLREN7E5IRGA xeclectic79x

    You get what you pay for.

  • Kanekaihawaii

    What’s up with the photo in the article ?  It has nothing to do with the runway issue…..but rather a separate issue of an access road for the airport.  Nice job Maui Now: photo unrelated.  :(

    • ThePeople

      It’s kind of related.  That photo is a the proposal for a new rental car facility.  2 of these plans involve extending the runway into the area where the rental car ltos currently are.  They need a new place to put the Rental Car companies

  • 808slug

    I vote for the one that includes a road racing circuit, rollercoasters and chirro stands.

  • Hawaiiansupaman

    They should create a new runway mauka of the heliport or there abouts.  Once it is operating, repair the old one.  No disruption.  A more mauka runway would be further away from ocean related issues like Tsunamis, salt spray and high flying kite surfers. 

    While your at it, why not construct a new terminal with access from  Haleakala Highway side of Hana Highway.  Dairy Rd. is insane.  Straighten Hansen Rd. and traffic will be spread out more evenly.      

  • Dakine

    They need to extend and widen BOTH runways.  The idea of creating another runway mauka of the helipad is not a bad idea.  Also, access to the airport from Halekakala highway.  Also the road behind Home Depot should go straight through to the airport with a fly over Hana Highway.

    • Hawaiiansupaman

      You must have esp. 

      There is a plan to create an airport access rd. that would run from Puunene Ave. where Dairy Rd. intersects, straight into the airport going over Hana Highway.  The corridor between Maui Harley Davidson and Wallmart is where it’s supposed to go and starts ramping up right behind the firestation.

      Purpose is to alleviate traffic on Dairy Rd by separating airport from local traffic with a straight shot into the airport.  Now you know why Aloha Petroleum built their station where they did.   

      The south end of Dairy Rd. will terminate at a light at Pakaula (the road between Home Depot and Walmart) .    

      Give you a few guesses on who doesn’t want it to happen.       

  • Rg

    As long as the Department of Transportation is  at it, why not consider a runway extension that would accommodate international flights?

    • Dakine

      That is in the plans already, but as I have said above, they are also going to need to widen the runways as well and I havent seen that listed.

  • ThePeople

    the people have spoken!

  • Cory Wray

    I think we should build a third runway. Continue landing wide-body aircrafts on 2-20 until the third runway is complete. Upon completion, repair runway 2-20. Once the expansion occurs we can expand the concourse and add new gates and new restaurants, which will bring over more tourists. More tourist means more business. More business means more taxes paid. Maui is inevitably going to expand, why waste so much time, energy and money resisting. Build the third runway. We are going to do it eventually anyways

  • http://twitter.com/Aloha_Analytics Aloha Analytics

    There should be a 4th Option – Zero time down for wide body aircraft landings, and less extension of of Runway 5-23 toward the rental cars and more extension of it toward the north end.  Or – Zero time down for wide body aircraft landings, and a new parallel runway to Runday 2-20 to the East of it, possibly meaning moving the Private terminal over to Runway 5-23.Also, the presentation did not mention or show anything about flight path of the large jets in landing on an extended Runway 5-23.  That flight path is going to bring the jets in at low altitude right over Kahului when landing.  Presently they come in over the cane fields and are low at the Highway to the Runway.  Runway 2-20 is positioned that way for a reason because of the prevailing wind direction.  Having spoken to commercial pilots many times, I would be curious what they think of the likely ground and wind conditions of trying to land regularly at Runway 5-23 with a strong cross wind.  The presentation did not mention anything about pilots being consulted on the details of landing and taking off regularly from Runway 5-23.  People in the crowd seem to be jumping prematurely at Option 3.  Option 3′s main redeeming characteristic by the crowd’s reaction is that it involves zero time down for wide body aircraft landings.  Otherwise, DOT needs to come up with some better options that incorporate that.

  • http://twitter.com/Aloha_Analytics Aloha Analytics

    In thinking and looking at it some more, extending Runway 5-23 and landing large commercial jets on it would additionally create safety conflicts with the Kanaha Pond Waterfowl Refuge.  The birds there would be unsafe to the jets, esp. when the winds are Kona and the jets would be taking off toward the pond, and would be unsafe to the birds all the time as the new jet pathway would be passing through the bird refuge at low altitude every few minutes.  This has not been well thought out by the DOT.Further, looking closely at it, a better alternative is that there is room on the East side of Runway 5-20 to have a second parallel runway over there.  It would require moving the private terminal over to the present Runway 5-23.  The helicopters would also need to be moved, but they might be somewhere other than Runway 5-23.  This could be done without ever closing down a long runway for the large commercial jets.  DOT’s 3 Options presented so far are not well thought out and varied enough to solve all of the demands of this project.

  • Joan

    We own a vacation rental in Kihei and closing the runway for 2 months would be terrible….but then again, I would not want something terrible to happen.  I think by them proposing either:  smaller aircraft into Kanapalli (sp) or having transporation by boat/ship available between Oahu and Maui.

  • Bob

    Do the least expensive repair because it won’t make any difference.  Visitor arrivals will continue to drop if car rental costs, fees, and taxes continue to go up.  Right now we are seeing $875 for one week economy car rental in February.  This rental fee is way out of line. 

  • Diane Patterson

    The next time you are in the Kahului Airport terminal look at the ceiling.  It is a mess.  So it looks as though
    we can not afford to look after the things we have.
    I don’t see how we could afford more runways, and or a new terminal if we haven’t learned to budget for
    the maintenance of existing facilities.
    West Maui Airport is even windier than Kahului.  with crazy changes of wind direction.  The terminal building is half empty.
    They could never accomodate bigger planes and they are not set up to fly after dark.  Plus they are proposing 
    to build a school and housing directly below the air strip so it would make an even higher risk and bigger safety issue.  Wish they would develope some valuable land first and leave a safety corridor around the air strip.


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