More than a year ago, our commentary involving the completion of 4,000 linear feet of roadway for Makakilo Drive to the H-1 Kualakai Parkway Interchange was published (“A critical need for a second access to Makakilo,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Aug. 31, 2023). No progress has been made since then, and now local residents are confronted with a state-planned development for up to 900 affordable housing units on 20-plus acres across from the Kapolei Walmart adjacent to one of the busiest intersections on the island: Farrington Highway and Makakilo Drive/Fort Barrette Road.

With the city unwilling to place the Makakilo Drive Completion (MDC) project on the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Improvement Program, the state Legislature was asked to change responsibility for the MDC from the city Department of Transportation Services (DTS) to the state Department of Transportation. But the bill never saw the light of day — and the project remains under the city DTS, and unfunded.

A few months ago, our Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board was briefed on this housing project, then known as Haku Kapolei, with its completion at the end of the decade. At the Aug. 28 board meeting, the project, now known as Leiwili Kapolei, was again briefed. This time, the developer’s spokesman updated that he expected the first phase, 272 units, to be completed by 2027.

This is not good news for Makakilo residents, especially the townbound commuters who use the Makakilo Drive access to H-1 freeway. We anticipate affordable housing units will each have two wage earners and — as Kapolei Property Development once indicated — there will be one new job created in the area for each new residence. That means at least one new commuter exiting onto Fort Barrette Road each morning heading for the eastbound H-1 entrance. Reactions at the neighborhood board’s August meeting and later on the internet focused on local opposition to Leiwili Kapolei, especially if the second access for Makakilo Drive is not completed before the first-phase units open.

We all understand the need for affordable housing — but just adding residential units without developing complementary infrastructure (in this case, a roadway) is not acceptable. We can only imagine what the local reaction would be in Kailua, Kahala or Manoa if 900 affordable housing units were proposed in the middle of those communities.

August also brought residents unwelcome news that the Makakilo quarry operation has been extended, as well as a decision-making extension about the life of the landfill in Kapolei. Good news is long overdue for long-suffering Leeward residents.

If the state cares about local approval for Leiwili Kapolei, it needs to work together with the city, other state and federal government agencies to complete Makakilo Drive. It is now more than 32 years since the MDC project first appeared on Kapolei’s transportation master plan. Place MDC immediately onto a revised Transportation Improvement Program, complete the environmental assessment and final design before the end of this year, assign a project manager, and start construction in January 2025.

This is not elevated rail or a new stadium project; it is a simple roadway as a second access for safety and for traffic congestion management, making it eligible for federal funding support. For those who believe Makakilo Drive cannot be completed in two years, think about the completion of the Empire State Building in 14 months and the Pentagon in 16 months. Are we no longer capable of timely development?

Michael Ferriera, from left, is transportation committee chair for the Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board; he is a resident of Makakilo, as are Frank Genadio and John Shockley.