Mauna Loa erupting

[AaronM]

Ugh. Is there really nowhere better than here to test munitions? I heard Nevada has a lot of potential sites...

[MyManao]

Lucky that Dan got this road built with defense funds.

Actually, you'd be amazed at how much Danny actually did with those 'defense funds.'

The DOD has an astronomically high 'petty cash' limit. Especially when compared with smaller agencies where something over a few hundred bucks has to be itemized, the DOD's is in the millions, tens of millions. As such Dan was able to creatively help fund other federal agencies here in Hawaii beyond there original, and often severely limiting, official budges, by taking draws on that fund.

[Obie]

He got the H3 freeway built too by using the military connection.

We might be able to get federal money a different way if we could build a road that meets current federal highway standards.

[ironyak]

Some Defense funding was used specifically because of PTA's needs and uses, which makes sense IMO, but also state DOT funds, and federal DOT TIGER grants, etc. Modern standards come with a price tag.

This has a pretty good review on the considerations given and work done for each section of the project that were outlined above.
https://geometricianassociates.com/proje...extension/

(now I'm sure some individuals lacking all this context and background will chime in to say how everyone involved was an idiot it was all done wrong and loads of extra money and building-a-rail-system amounts of time for legal battles should have been spent to move the road out of the possible path of the lava - that same keyboard used to gripe could be used to learn the history and reasoning involved instead, but oh well, at least the eruption is making plenty of clouds to shake their fist at!)

[AaronM]

[TomK]

The reasons why the DKI was constructed over the 1843 and 1935 lava flows by Puu Huluhulu is two fold. They wanted to keep the alignment within the existing right of way so HHL homesteads wouldn't be impacted and lessen the environmental impact. The latter is largely the reason  most of the rest of the highway followed the existing alignment.

There is exceptions to this though:

m.m 35-41 was realigned to bypass the PTA cantonment area
m.m 41-51 was realigned to largely avoid the PTA's west side training area
m.m 29-35 was realigned to move the highway out of the PTA's firing range.

The latter segment required the Federal government to establish new Palila nesting areas on the northwest
side of Maunakea to make up for the lost habitat between m.m 29-35.

Interesting, thank you for a reasoned and thoughtful response. However, this is all on the west side of the Summit Access Road. Are you aware of a reason the DKI wasn't built a little farther north at that point to avoid the loss of access to Mauna Kea?

[TomK]

This has a pretty good review on the considerations given and work done for each section of the project that were outlined above.
https://geometricianassociates.com/proje...extension/

(now I'm sure some individuals lacking all this context and background will chime in to say how everyone involved was an idiot it was all done wrong and loads of extra money and building-a-rail-system amounts of time for legal battles should have been spent to move the road out of the possible path of the lava - that same keyboard used to gripe could be used to learn the history and reasoning involved instead, but oh well, at least the eruption is making plenty of clouds to shake their fist at!)

Can you point to the part in your link about not building the DKI slightly north and uphill of its current position at the old Mauna Kea Access Road junction?

[Chas]

Thanks for the link ironyak. It was very interesting.

[AaronS]

The reason why I presume the DKI wasn't moved mauka by Maunakea Access Road intersection is because the land is controlled by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. It would've been difficult, even more so now, to re-align the highway on to these lands. The homesteaders would be up in arms.

---

Some Defense funding was used specifically because of PTA's needs and uses, which makes sense IMO, but also state DOT funds, and federal DOT TIGER grants, etc. Modern standards come with a price tag.

This has a pretty good review on the considerations given and work done for each section of the project that were outlined above.
https://geometricianassociates.com/proje...extension/

Dr. Ron Terry, the principal behind Geometrician Associates, was in involved the environmental studies necessary to realign/reconstruct Saddle Road from Mamalahoa Highway to Puainako Street Extension.

[leilanidude]

The homesteaders would be up in arms.
----------
Over land they will never, ever be allowed to "homestead" on?