$305M Released for Kahului Airport Rental Car Facility

Kahului Airport Consolidated Rental Car Facility, rendering courtesy state Department of Transportation.

By Wendy Osher

A total of $305.5 million is being released for the planned Consolidated Car Rental Facility and roadway improvements projects at Kahului Airport on Maui, Governor Neil Abercrombie announced today.

The Kahului funds make up most of a $335 million funding release for capital improvement projects at airports across the state.

The remaining funds include: $14.46 million for the Overseas Terminal and 2nd level roadway improvements at Honolulu International Airport on Oʻahu; nearly $11.75 million for concession improvements at Oʻahu’s Honolulu International Airport; and $3.3 million for improvements to the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Facility at Hilo International Airport on Hawaiʻi Island.

Car Rental pickup at Kahului Airport. File photo by Wendy Osher.

State officials say the multi-level Consolidated Car Rental Facility on Maui is designed to provide added customer convenience and reduce traffic congestion at the airport.

Access to the facility is planned through a new access road that will extend from the Hāna Highway to the Airport Loop Road, state officials said.

According to the announcement, construction will include the following: a customer service building, quick turnaround, ready and return vehicle parking spaces, four 15,000-gallon fuel storage tanks, a people mover system to and from the terminal, site improvements, roadway connections to airport terminal roadways, additional employee parking spaces and potential flat-plate, non-reflective photovoltaic panels.

The base yard where these car rental companies are located at the Kahului airport is scheduled to be relocated. Photo by Wendy Osher.

In making the announcement today, Governor Abercrombie said, “We have seen great strides in our Hawaiʻi Airports Modernization Program over the past few years, and the release of these funds is evidence that we remain committed to transforming our airports into world-class facilities. Any investment in our airports is an investment in our economy and jobs.”

In October, a Final Environmental Assessment was filed for the project by the state Department of Transportation, calling for a customer service building where all rental care company counters and administrative offices would be located.

The document said the facility, now referred to as the ConRAC, was being proposed for location on 17 acres of land at the Kahului Airport.

An earlier Draft Environmental Assessment document noted an anticipated increase in numbers of enplaned passengers and rental car transactions.

According to the document, an additional 350,000 square feet or 8 acres, are projected to be needed to accommodate rental car facilities at Kahului Airport by 2020, compared with conditions that existed in 2011.

The report further stated that an additional 550,000 square feet or 12.5 acres, are projected to be needed to accommodate rental car facilities at the Kahului Airport by 2025.

Because the existing rental car facilities are located at the end of the terminal roadway system, rental car customers returning vehicles must circulate through, adding to congestion in front of the terminals.