Queen Kaahumanu Highway Widening Project Delayed Again

The Queen Kaahumanu Highway phase II widening project will be delayed again. A hui comprised of three Native Hawaiian groups approached the DOT at the last minute and expressed their concerns about archaeological sites in the project area.

They submitted these concerns  to the HDOT in late September. Nevertheless, I didn’t know the specific details at that time. The recent WHT article didn’t go into great detail about these issues either. However, an anonymous source told me they wanted the entire middle median removed from the project. So, I e-mailed Isaac Harp, the leader of this hui, to see if this request is true. He replied to my e-mail yesterday:

“Aloha Aaron,

Please address me as Isaac. And I’ll ask again, have we met before? The Native Hawaiian Organizations that I am working with have never asked for the median to be eliminated. We supported in writing to the FHWA and HDOT that we support a median of 12 feet wide along the entire route to alleviate head-on collisions. We seek the narrowing of the roadway in areas where it is safe to do so in order to minimize the destruction of what we consider to be culturally, historically, and/or religiously significant.

My dear friend Jerry Rothstein and his lovely wife died in a head-on several miles north of the airport. If the FHWA and DOT engineers cut out the little dips along side the center line instead of only along the shoulders I believe the number of head-on collisions would have been significantly reduced from what they are now. I wonder what genius decides where those little alert measures are placed along the highways? Yes, there are numerous sites that were found north of the park. You may recall that there was a significant find of ki’i in the Kohanaiki development, which is a clear indication that sites are not limited to within the park boundaries.

An archaeologist friend of mine discovered several sites north of the park during his free time. He suggested that it’s as if prior surveyors intentionally missed those sites since they were so obvious to him. I would give you his name but I haven’t asked his permission to do so. I can tell you that he does archaeological work for the federal government.

Let me give you an example of what I believe may be occurring. If an archaeological contractor’s future prosperity depended on future government contracts, it may be conceivable that the contractor would try to perform in a manner that best benefits and satisfies the agency that contracted them. Do you follow? Like most corruption on this planet, it is about the money. I’m not accusing anyone of anything but I do wonder about these things quite often.

If you read what I attached to my earlier note you might have noticed that the project is potentially in violation of the National Historic Preservation Act. Well not the project itself but those who approved federal funding and provided federal approvals for the project prior to conducting meaningful Section 106 Consultations with Native Hawaiian Organizations who may attach cultural or religious significance to effected sites. Effected in most cases means destruction of the site, with mitigation limited to pictures, documentation, and the occasional excavation of selected sites to see if they can find cultural material that will be locked away in a museum somewhere.

I have no idea what they destroyed in phase one but destruction of over 200 feet of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, and portions of 7 other trails of cultural significance with phase two is in itself unacceptable. Include additional sites planned for destruction and you may begin to understand why we have stepped forward to object to the project in it’s current form. Personally, I was unaware of the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Consultation process until I was made aware of it a few weeks ago. I heard of it before but ignorantly thought that it only applied to human remains. Now I know better.

Aaron, do you support the 300 foot wide paved roadway design with the 85 foot median? If so, could you share with me why you support it? Would you support a narrowed median such as what we support if it preserved historical, cultural, and religious sites? Kanaka Maoli have given up a lot for the convenience of the masses who have come to Hawaii. The time has long past that consideration be given to our needs and desires.

Isaac”

I don’t feel particularly comfortable if they reduce the size of the middle median throughout the project. The HDOT/Goodfellow Brothers will be forced to redesign the roadway improvements again, which will result in more delays. In addition, I believe roadway safety will be compromised if the median is minimized.