Access to the Mauna Loa Observatory could be restored by April, more than two years after the eruption of its namesake volcano cut it off from the rest of the island.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s atmospheric monitoring station on Mauna Loa lost its only access road during the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa. During the volcano’s 13-day eruption, the river of lava it produced covered about 1.2 miles of the Mauna Loa Observatory Access Road at two locations.

Since then researchers have been only able to access the observatory via helicopter, with about four staff members flying in once a week. And with power lines to the observatory also cut off by lava, the facility has been running at a significantly reduced capacity.

That could all change in 2025, however. NOAA filed with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources an application for permits to design and construct a temporary roadway atop the cooled lava.

According to a report by the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ ­Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the proposed project would be an unpaved road cut through the existing lava flows that will match the course of the actual road “to the maximum extent practicable.”

The report stated that in a “maximum disturbance scenario,” the contractor could bulldoze the flow all the way down to the elevation of the existing roadway, with roadside grading allowing for a 1-foot shoulder on either side.

However, a final design has not yet been drafted.

Because the project is technically considered to be the repair, maintenance or reconstruction of an existing roadway, it does not require an environmental assessment, the report concludes.

Consequently, construction could begin quickly, and the report anticipates the work could wrap up by April.

While the cost of the project was not specified in the report, NOAA published a pre-solicitation notice for the project in May estimating a range of $3 million to $5 million.

The BLNR approved NOAA’s application Sept. 30 with no discussion. However, the matter will have to return to the BLNR once a final design is selected.

Harris pursues Asian Americans in swing states

ATLANTA >> As Vice President Kamala Harris continues her quest to become the nation’s first person of Asian descent to be elected president, her campaign is increasing its focus on voters in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Georgia and other swing states.

Harris, who is Indian American and Black, is hoping the typically Democratic-­leaning voting bloc will help push her to victory in November. Asian American and Pacific Islander voter turnout in Georgia increased by 84% between 2016 and 2020, more than in any other state in the country, according to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Data.

Harris’ campaign is airing television and digital ads in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The number of voters who identify as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders rose across the country between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. census, but the increase was among the biggest in Georgia.

In Georgia, 4.6% of the population is Asian American/Pacific Islander, according to Census data. There are nearly 239,000 registered voters in Georgia who identify as Asian American/­Pacific Islander.

———

Hawaii Tribune-Herald and Atlanta Journal-Constitution