Ask the Mayor: Can’t One Road Project Be Completed Before Another Begins?

Baldwin Avenue. Photo by Wendy Osher.

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

Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa via email at AskTheMayor@mauicounty.gov, call 270-7855 or send them by mail to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor”

Good Morning Mr. Mayor,

Q: I was wondering about the Kokomo Road in Ha‘ikū. Last year, all of the Ha‘ikū residents were pleased to see that repair work of the Kokomo Road had started… and then nothing. It stopped halfway down the road. What happened? Now I am reading that Baldwin Avenue is scheduled to be repaired. Can we finish one project first and then go on to the next?

A: In this case, the answer is actually “no,” because the federal funds that are paying for 80% of the construction costs are only available in increments. But this translates into millions of dollars saved.

Kokomo was originally one project, but because of its scope, it had to be split into two phases. The cost was too high to fund in one year with the federal funds.

Baldwin Avenue also needed to be split, but the good news is that Phase 2 of both of these important projects is slated to go out to bid this year.