The goal of the study and any future infrastructure, which is not a part of the proposed funding measure, is to find where other roadways could be placed in the district to help alleviate the longstanding issue of traffic congestion and increase capacity for evacuation in the event of a natural disaster and emergency response.
The bill would have accepted and added into the County’s budget $1 million from the state, which Puna state Rep. Greggor Ilagan was able to get allocated as a line item in the state budget in 2021, and another $500,000 from County coffers for the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works to do the study.
There is no infrastructure work planned at this time. Bill 107 only would put funds into the County budget for the study, which would be conducted to find an alternate route in and out of Puna to Hilo below Highway 130.