Bill Text: HI SR195 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Transportation To Evaluate Traffic Congestion, Highway Flooding, And Road Safety Issues On Hawaii Island.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-21 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-21-21. [SR195 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-SR195-Introduced.html
THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
195 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
requesting the department of transportation to evaluate kuakini highway and queen kaahumanu highway between henry street and kamehameha iii road on hawai‘i island and conduct a feasibility study regarding traffic reduction by widening the highway or other alternative means.
WHEREAS, the island of Hawai‘i is experiencing growth in population and as a result, an increase in difficulties generated by a significant growth in traffic; and
WHEREAS, vehicle traffic on Kuakini Highway between Lako Street and Kamehameha III Road on Hawai‘i island typically causes traffic jams lasting several consecutive hours in the mornings and evenings; and
WHEREAS, North Kona's population spiked by almost four thousand people to nearly forty-two thousand in total from 2010 through 2016, causing additional traffic on Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway; and
WHEREAS, relieving the bottleneck where the Queen Kaahumanu and Kuakini Highways merge is necessary for the community's safety; and
WHEREAS, S.B. No. 1011, Regular Session of 2021, proposes to appropriate funds to the Department of Transportation to widen Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kuakini Highway; and
WHEREAS, the Senate Committee on Transportation found that the rapidly growing population in west Hawai‘i has contributed to consistent vehicle traffic on Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kuakini Highway; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation initiated a study that determined that widening Kuakini Highway from two to four lanes would require land acquisitions from over one hundred fifty property owners and funding in excess of $150,000,000; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation terminated the Kuakini Highway widening study due to the project's infeasibility; and
WHEREAS, easing traffic at one of Kona's most frustrating pinch points on Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway between Henry Street and Kamehameha III Road is in the best safety and public welfare interests of the State; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the Department of Transportation is requested to evaluate Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway between Henry Street and Kamehameha III Road on Hawai‘i island and conduct a feasibility study regarding traffic reduction by widening the highway or other alternative means; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in exploring other alternative means of traffic reduction, the Department of Transportation is requested to consider repainting traffic lanes from fourteen feet to ten feet; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is urged to place on its priority list the Kuakini Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway project under the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and provide a report on how to reclassify the project as a safety project, including any proposed legislation and recommendations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to submit its report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation and Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Department of Transportation; Kuakini Highway; Traffic; Study; Hawaii Island; Statewide Transportation Improvement Program