HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	64
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

EXPRESSING LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR THE ANE KEOHOKALOLE HIGHWAY EXTENSION, MID-LEVEL ROAD, IN THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I.

     WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation has identified the Ane Keohokalole Highway extension, mid-level road as a priority project; and

     WHEREAS, the Ane Keohokalole Highway extension project is being coordinated with the County of Hawai‘i, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation; and

     WHEREAS, the project involves a $15 million procurement request to construct an extension of Ane Keohokalole Highway  including new roadways, relocation and construction of new utilities, and other improvements; and

     WHEREAS, the existing north-south traffic between the primary employment centers of South Kohala and South Kona is limited to the two arterial corridors of Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway and Mamalahoa Highway, which leads to long delays along both highways; and

WHEREAS, the Ane Keohokalole Highway extension is a mid-level road project that will help reduce traffic congestion in the Kealekehe region by providing an alternative to the presently existing routes; and

     WHEREAS, the Ane Keohokalole Highway extension will provide direct access to two major affordable housing projects, which would allow residents to purchase affordable homes being developed by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (Villages of La‘I Opua, more than 700 homes) and Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation (Keahuolu project, 2,200 homes); and

     WHEREAS, together, the two housing projects will help meet the need for affordable housing in the North Kona area, and simultaneously provide construction jobs to stimulate the Big Island economy; and

     WHEREAS, the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation project alone is projected to generate $500 million in construction-related wages while providing affordable houses; and

     WHEREAS, a petition has been signed by over 450 people over a four-day period in support of the Ane Keohokalole Highway extension project; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that this body expresses support for the Ane Keohokalole Highway extension project and requests the agencies involved in this project to proceed as expeditiously as possible; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Transportation, Chairperson of the Hawaiian Home Lands Commission, Executive Director of the Hawai‘i Housing and Finance Development Corporation, and Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i.

Report Title: 

Ane Keohokalole; Support