02-13-2020, 05:59 AM
I actually met a high ranking state transport official face to face not long ago and asked a about an alternate route. He said there was no provision for one in the state highway master plan, and as gatekeepers for federal money, the DOT would see to it that it would not be federally funded. As he put it, "Our priority in Puna is to complete the 130 improvements. If the county wants to pay for an alternate route, it might get built." Now does anybody think the county is going to cough up somewhere over $100,000,000 to make life occasionally more convenient for Puna commuters? And that $100M is way low to build something all the way to Nanawale as some people want. That would be more like $200M. But by all means keep flogging this lost cause if it makes you feel better.