Highway bill talks
important to Hawaii

The U.S. House and Senate
negotiators will discuss island
transportation projects
worth $58.5 million

By Pete Pichaske
Phillips News Service

WASHINGTON -- Negotiations here over the fate of the national highway bill should have more than passing interest to Hawaii drivers.

At stake in the talks are transportation projects in Hawaii worth $58.5 million -- and that is on top of nearly $1 billion in island projects that would be funded over the next six years.

Negotiators for the Senate and the House began meeting on Capitol Hill last week to hammer out differences between their two versions of a bill that will distribute slightly more than $200 billion to states over the next six years.

The Senate version would give Hawaii about $150 million a year while the House version allots about $140 million. But the House version includes an added $9 billion in specific projects nationwide, including $58.5 million for nine projects in Hawaii.

"These are projects that have been on the books for a long time," said Hawaii Highways Administrator Pericles Manthos.

The Hawaii projects in the House bill include:

$20 million for an interchange at the junction of H-1 and a proposed North-South Road.

$10 million for the Kapaa Bypass on Kauai.

$10 million to upgrade the Kaumualili Highway on Kauai.

$9 million to upgrade Puuloa Road between Kamehameha Highway and Salt Lake Blvd.

$2 million for improvements to H-1 between the Waiawa interchange and the Halawa interchange.

$1 million to build the Kawahihee Bypass on the Big Island.

$1 million to build the Waimea Bypass on the Big Island.

$1 million for preliminary work on replacing the Sand Island bridge with a tunnel.

$4.5 million for the Honolulu Bus System.

The Hawaii projects, along with about 1,500 others in 47 other states, are not included in the Senate bill, and their fate is one of the differences negotiators have to work out.

Negotiators might also change the formula for distributing highway construction money.

For the past several years, Hawaii has received a higher proportion of funds based on the money it pays in transportation taxes than almost any other state. Lawmakers have promised to even out the formulas among the states, which is sure to mean a smaller return for Hawaii.

Still, both versions of the highway bill would give more money to Hawaii than in years past. And because it has one of the highest proportions of residents living in urban areas in the nation, the state is virtually assured of pocketing an above-average share of highway funds, according to aides with the congressional transportation committees.

Congress is expected to pass a final version of the highway bill by the end of May, according to Scott Brenner of the House Transportation Committee.