Ask the Mayor: When Will Pu‘unēnē Avenue be Paved?

Wakea Avenue roadwork, 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” column.

Dear Mayor:

Q: Can you please tell us the status of the proposal to widen Pu‘unene Avenue between the Airport Access Road and Wakea Avenue from the current two lanes to four? That stretch of road has been a real bottleneck for quite some time now. Thank you.

A: Pu‘unene Avenue is actually a state highway, but according to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), construction funds are targeted for Federal Fiscal Year 2019 to widen Puunene Avenue between Kuihelani Highway and Kamehameha Avenue.

With the new budget and the highway system needs in mind, the State of Hawai‘i Department of Transportation says that “all projects are being prioritized with a priority on safety and ensuring the system we have is well maintained and operates at its highest efficiency. This means rebuilding portions of our aging system to improve its safety, state of repair and efficiency will take a priority over capital improvement projects that will build new lanes. Although funding may be shown at this time, the widening project may be deferred to future years subject to availability of funds.”

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” column.