“The day has finally arrived”

Hawaii County announced Tuesday that it is ready to reconstruct a 3.64-mile section of Highway 137 in lower Puna, between the makai end of Pohoiki Road and the intersection of Highway 132 — also known as “Four Corners.”

The Public Works Ministry said a contract was awarded to Isemoto Contracting Co., which received official notice to proceed on June 24.

The project to rehabilitate the county road, which was flooded by lava during the 2018 eruption of Kilauea Volcano in the Lower Rift Zone, is estimated to cost $17.8 million. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay the lion’s share, $13.35 million, while the county will contribute $4.45 million.

“You know, the day has finally come,” said Puna City Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz. “We were given deadlines that kept getting longer and longer, and it almost felt like it was never going to happen. I think it’s become a reality for the community because we’re finally going to get started.”

The project includes: grading of existing lava rock, installation of a new asphalt concrete pavement structure, removal and replacement of asphalt in areas not impacted by lava, and installation of a new 6-inch water main. The project includes 3.4 miles of new road and 0.24 miles of repaving of the asphalt surface with asphalt concrete aggregate.

According to the DPW, topographic survey work is already underway. Construction work on site is expected to begin at the end of the month and is expected to be completed by March 2026.

“This is all part of the connectivity and getting Puna back to where it was before the 2018 lava flow,” said State Sen. Joy San Buenaventura of Puna. “This is a huge milestone, especially since we’re talking about six years later. And congratulations to the county for finally being able to do this.”

When completed, the new road will reconnect the Kapoho Vacationland subdivision, which was nearly destroyed by the eruption, to Highway 132, which runs from Four Corners to Pahoa.

A few homes and other buildings remain standing in the isolated subdivision, and Deb Smith, president of the Vacationland Hawaii Community Association, called the impending road rehabilitation “huge.”

“We live here full time, we hike around the Four Corners,” Smith said. “We’re not getting any younger. I’m 69 and my husband is 70, and we’ve hiked around the Four Corners, about a mile and a half.

“We’re looking forward to going home. Six years is a long time. We’re really ready to start our recovery. We’ve been in limbo for six years.”

Smith said once the ride home is complete, the real work for her and the community begins.

“Once Route 137 is open, we still have to do our subdivision roads. For us, getting Route 137 is just the first step,” she said. “We lost every square inch of subdivision roads. So we have seven miles of subdivision roads left to get back.”

The DPW is hosting a Hawaiian Project Blessing Ceremony at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 24, at Four Corners. All community members are invited to attend the event.

“The announcement of the blessing ceremony is a big step for the community,” Kierkiewicz said. “It’s going to be a celebration. We really wanted to make sure we incorporated the culture, so there will be pule and a blessing.”

Email John Burnett at [email protected].