Mar 9, 2021
A letter to the editor in the March 5 paper expressed the opinion that career promotions could be the driver behind the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s decision to build a roundabout on Piilani Highway.
In an article last year, it was reported that at a community “talk story” meeting, the DOT project manager stated that no other options would be considered.
I think the driver behind this attitude is ego and career. “How fantastic it would be to have my name attached to the first multilane roundabout in the state?” Why the refusal to consider any other options?
With the assistance of Sen. Brian Schatz, the state received a discretionary grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in the amount of $20 million (Hawaii News Now, Nov. 6, 2019). This grant was the unfortunate result of a fatal accident along Ala Moana Boulevard in 2019.