Mauna Loa erupting

[Wao nahele kane]

It seems to me that if you are intent on putting a road through an area that is prone to lava flows, in a lot of cases it would be best to put it right on top of the most recent flow.  Especially in flat, level areas.

In these areas the flow tends to inflate and reach substantial thicknesses.  So wouldn’t a subsequent flow tend to go alongside the previous one, rather than on top of it?

I know there are plenty of variables and these are just my ramblings, but don’t you think there might be more to the decision than “easier to grade”?

Perhaps it would have been even more sensible to have built the new highway a few hundred yards to the north in the most vulnerable area to ML lava flows, i.e., just a little way up on the slopes of Mauna Kea? I realize that might be private land, but building a modern highway where lava would pool near the MK and ML access roads could have been avoided.

I fully agree with you on this, Tomk. They should have built the highway above the union of ML and MK up on the flank of MK. But, I suppose when the federal government will be there to pay for the road replacement after the "disaster" declaration, rationalized planning isn't neccesary. 

I don't agree in a later post where you claimed the word years in the place of yards wasn't a possible typo as indeed a typo can trigger a spell correction algorithm to enter an unintended word. 300 is from a direct forum reply display from your previous post, so, yes, you did relay ""300..."... Unless it was a malevolently based manifestation caused by an auto spell correction algorithm via an unintended typo you made. ?