Ask the Mayor: Did the Hololani Repaving/Speed Bump Project Run Out of Funds?

Hololani Street, Maui Now graphics.

Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the most-asked questions submitted to his office staff.

Dear Mayor:

Q: Over a year ago, Hololani Street in Pukalani was partially paved and speed bumps were installed. However, the project appeared to have run out of money halfway through and signs were installed reading “BUMP” where there are none, with half the road still unpaved.

Hololani Street is a main street to access south Pukalani and I am wondering when the rest of the street will be paved and speed bumps installed.

A: You’re right, that’s exactly what happened, but the reason may not be what you expect. The paving was halted because the contractor ran into problems with the underlying subgrade material of the roadway–a highly saturated cinder material that was not suitable to support the new asphalt pavement layer.

A change order was put in to use a geotextile liner to completely reconstruct the pavement, rather than just resurfacing the road, which was much more expensive than the original cost that the project was funded for.

Core samples have been taken to determine the required treatment for the remainder of the road, and construction will resume once the test results are completed and funding is appropriated.

Our Public Works department is also in the process of hiring a geotechnical engineer to take pavement core samples of various Pukalani Terrace subdivision streets, which need quite a bit of resurfacing work.

The core samples will help our engineers assess the underlying material and hopefully avoid any other surprises like this one.

I would like to thank the Hololani Street residents for their patience while having to deal with such a major inconvenience.

Want to Ask the Mayor?

Submit your questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa via email at [email protected], by phone at 270-7855 or by mail to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the Ask the Mayor column.