Lawmakers secure funding for Maui capital improvements

Souki
HONOLULU – Maui legislators secured more than $460 million in Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funding for various projects across the island, including $20 million for the acquisition of land parcels at Lipoa Point, $800,000 for sand replenishment at Kaanapali Beach and $8.5 million for the realignment and widening of Honoapiilani Highway from Lahainaluna Road to the vicinity of Launiupoko.
The largest single item is $130 million for construction of the new Kihei High School. Construction is expected to begin in 2015. The full funding will allow bidding on the whole project and save the state millions of dollars.
“Even as recent projections on growth for the state are tempered, we still need to evaluate our priorities to ensure that public funds are spent where they are warranted and most needed,” said House Speaker Joseph M. Souki.
“There has been much said about the cooling of our economy with the new forecast from the state Council on Revenues. But that should not frighten us into taking no action, but motivate us to sharpen our pens so that we spend prudently, making the most of the dollars we do have.”
West Maui projects receiving CIP funding include $75,000 for the design and construction of pedestrian safety improvements at Lahaina Intermediate School, $75,000 for various pedestrian safety improvements at Princess Nahienaena Elementary School, $3 million for the construction of shoreline improvements (to include shoreline erosion mitigation and roadway work) on Honoapiilani Highway, and almost $5.5 million for the rehabilitation of a concrete bridge on Honoapiilani Highway in the vicinity of Honolua Bay.