Hawaii County officials are ready to begin a nearly $18 million project to reconstruct a 3.64-mile section of Highway 137 that was claimed by lava from the 2018 Kilauea Volcano eruption in lower Puna.
Department of Public Works officials said Tuesday that a contract was awarded to Isemoto Contracting Co., which received the official notice to proceed on June 24. The section of Highway 137 is between the makai end of Pohoiki Road and the intersection of Highway 132, an area also known as Four Corners.
The price tag for the project to rehabilitate the county road is $17.8 million. The lion’s share, $13.35 million, will be funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while the county will kick in $4.45 million.
“You know, the day has finally come,” said Puna Council member Ashley Kierkiewicz. “We’ve been provided timelines that kept getting extended and extended, and it almost felt as if the project was never going to happen. I think the project has just become real for the community, because we’re finally going to get started.”
The work includes grading the existing lava rock, installing a new asphalt-concrete pavement structure, removing and replacing asphalt in areas unaffected by lava, and installing a new 6-inch waterline. The project includes 3.4 miles of new road and 0.24 miles of repaving the asphalt surface with asphalt-concrete aggregate.
Surveying of the area is already underway, according to DPW. On-site construction is set to begin at the end of this month, with an anticipated completion date of March 2026.
“It’s all a part of connectivity and getting Puna back to where it was prior to the 2018 lava flow,” said state Sen. Joy San Buenaventura of Puna. “It’s a huge milestone, especially since we’re talking about six years later. And kudos to the county for being able to finally get it done.”
The new road, when finished, will reconnect Kapoho Vacationland subdivision — which was all but wiped out by the eruption — with 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 Vacationland Hawaii Community Association, called the pending road rehabilitation “huge.”
“We’ve been living out here full-time, hiking in and out from Four Corners,” Smith said. “We’re not getting any younger. I’m 69, and my husband’s 70, and we’ve been hiking in and out — about a mile-and-a-half to Four Corners.
“We can’t wait to actually drive home. Six years is a long time to wait for access. We’re really ready to begin our recovery. We’ve been in limbo for six years.”
Smith said once the drive home occurs, the real work for her and the community begins.
“Once 137 gets opened, we still have to do our subdivision roads. For us, getting 137 is just the first step,” she said. “We lost every inch of subdivision roads. So, we have 7 miles of subdivision roads to recover.”
DPW is hosting a Hawaiian blessing ceremony for the project at 10 a.m. on Sept. 24 at Four Corners, which will be open to the public.
“To have the blessing ceremony announced is a significant milestone for the community,” Kierkiewicz said. “It’s going to be a celebration. We felt strongly about ensuring that we’re incorporating culture, so there will be pule and a blessing.”
