Report Title:
Roads in Limbo; Appropriation
Description:
Establishes and appropriates funds for a roads in limbo program to maintain certain roads in the county of Hawaii where state and county jurisdiction are not certain. (HB2520 HD1)
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2520 |
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TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE ROADS IN LIMBO PROGRAM FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Roads in limbo are roads that neither the State nor the county of Hawaii highways divisions maintain. They are roads that are typically referred to as government roads and homestead roads. They were previously roads of the Territory of Hawaii, jurisdiction over which is at issue between the State and the county. The matter of jurisdiction has not been resolved, but the State and county are currently in the process of addressing roads in limbo issues.
Residents who reside on the roads in limbo have made frequent requests to the county of Hawaii for repairs and maintenance of the roads. The county has responded to their requests on a very limited basis, pursuant to the direction of the county civil defense agency. Other than in response to an emergency situation, the county of Hawaii does not have the resources to properly maintain these roads in a fair and consistent manner. In the county of Hawaii, there are an estimated four hundred fifty-nine miles of roads that fall into the roads in limbo category.
The county public works department has established a protocol to develop a maintenance program, which includes the following:
(1) Surveying each road;
(2) Physically verifying the miles of roads in limbo;
(3) Determining the condition of each road and categorizing each road;
(4) Evaluating culverts and bridges;
(5) Prioritizing the repairs of roads by district; and
(6) Considering land acquisition and realignment of some roads.
At twenty-five miles per year, it would take the county an estimated eighteen years to complete their maintenance program, at a cost in excess of $2,000,000 per year. The county of Hawaii is requesting $2,000,000 in state moneys with the intention of using county funds to match the state appropriation in the first year, to establish a roads in limbo program, and work with the state department of transportation in the hope of establishing a long-term partnership. Even if that long-term goal fails, the $2,000,000 appropriated this year would enable the county to start the program and finally make a dent in what has been, until now, an increasing problem.
SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $2,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 for a grant-in-aid to the county of Hawaii for the establishment of a roads in limbo program to resolve issues relating to roads in the county of Hawaii where state and county jurisdiction are not certain.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the county of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.