For those of us that have visited Maui and stayed in either the Ka’anapali or Kapalua areas know that there is really only one road to drive along Maui’s west coast, and that’s Hwy 30 (otherwise known as Honoapiilani Highway). And that’s fine if you’re new to the area, since you can’t really get lost. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful view, too, right up next to the ocean, tall rock walls on your right. Yet, a good part of the drive is limited to only a single lane in each direction, and if you happen to be heading north on Hwy 30 say around 4pm, you know where I’m going with this.

As soon as you hit near where Lahaina starts to the south, you find yourself sitting in traffic like you would be in downton Honolulu or even close to what you left behind back home (we’re from Chicago, so we know it all too well here). On a good day, it might start to thin out as you approach the Lahaina Cannery Mall, at which point, it’s two lanes again. 

Well, this proposed bypass, which has been talked about for decades now, would help alleviate some of  that gridlock with an alternative route for those not needing to stop near Lahaina to get to their destination.  You might think it would be something that could be signed off on and started rather quickly, but that’s not how it works.  Much of the Hawaiian culture is based upon respect for the land and the environment around them. It’s engrained in their traditions and their everyday lives, even in this modern age. So they don’t just go plowing down trees and nature preserves to make way for more automobile traffic on a whim.

Much like the debates last year over the Hawaii Superferry, a key step towards any new  development or modernization in Hawaii involves an environmental assessment. I won’t get too much into that, but as the name indicates, it is a review that measures the impact of any proposed development or modernization to the land and areas that would be affected. The article also mentions a concept that I found interesting, in referring to the construction contract for the Lahaina Bypass as being a “design-build” contract.  It’s intention is that even though an environment assessment is done before hand, any new discovers or findings uncovered in the middle of the project can be re-evaluated and the bypass route altered to accomodate and preserve the land as deemed fit.

In addition to the news article, you can also read more about the first phase of this project at the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s website under the section listed for the Lahaina Bypass.

Mahalo.