After six years, expansion and widening are completed, but establishing and maintaining the native roadside plants have proven much more costly and complex than originally anticipated.The tourism industry in Hawai‘i had been hit hard by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but by the following year recovery had begun. Linda Lingle was elected governor and Alan Arakawa succeeded James “Kimo” Apana as mayor of Maui. In a subcommittee hearing, U.S. State Sen. Daniel Akaka complained about gas prices 30 cents a gallon higher in Hawai‘i, pointing out a service station in Pukalani charging the highest price in the nation—$1.89 per gallon.
And just south of Dairy Road, the first spade full of dirt was turned to begin work to expand the 6.5-mile Mokulele Highway from Kahului to Kihei to four lanes. While tourists loved the familiar highway flanked by the same towering wili-wili trees many residents decried for their sunlight “strobe effect,” traffic routinely backed up at both ends.
Over the preceding decades, Kihei and South Maui had grown from sleepy little clumps of dwellings and businesses scattered between Suda’s Fish Market and the Maui Lu Resort in the north and Big Beach on the south into a vibrant, self-contained community. World-class resorts, shops and gated developments sprung up in Wailea.
The ambitious Mokulele expansion and widening project began in earnest, but would take six years and five phases to complete. Among the challenges were to elevate the new highway to avoid flooding and correct the drainage issues that had become commonplace with even a few inches of rain. Community advocates had pushed hard for the use of native plants and landscaping along the new highway and a bicycle path to run the entire length.
The cost of the new highway, which opened to much fanfare on May 27, ran about $87 million, with 80 percent picked up by the federal government and 20 percent by the state.
Traffic is moving well and the bicycle path is open and in use. But establishing and maintaining the native roadside plants have proven to be much more costly and complex than originally anticipated.
Rather than planting the Bermuda grass commonly used along highways in Hawai‘i, the Mokulele Highway Beautification Committee, made up of native plant specialists, landowners and land-users along the highway, and concerned citizens, had recommended the use of native plants on the median and along the shoulders, with a goal to become the first highway on Maui to be landscaped with indigenous plants. Along with a number of native trees and shrubs, a native grass called akiaki was chosen because it was drought tolerant and thought to require less maintenance.
Bermuda grass must be mowed but does not require weeding or the application of fertilizers and herbicides. Akiaki grass, said advocates, would not need to be mowed, and would require less water and maintenance. Unfortunately, so far this has not turned out to be the case. Charlene Shibuya, a Maui construction engineer with the Highways Division of the state Department of Transportation, estimates that it will cost nearly $1 million annually to keep all of the native landscaping in optimum condition—approximately twice the cost to maintain Bermuda grass. In the effort to establish the akiaki grass, an elaborate grid of miles of black irrigation tubing was installed with the plan to remove it once the grass has been established.
A drive from Kihei to Kahului on the new highway reveals the grass growing along the highway turning from green to brown to barren and back to green. The changes are directly related to the work done by the contractors and their landscaping subcontractors who completed each phase. As part of their contract, the contractors are to water and maintain the landscaping for three years.
Goodfellow Bros. completed phase one on the Kahului end, utilizing a landscaping subcontractor from Kaua‘i. “The subcontractor pulled out after the weeds became a problem,” said Shibuya. But, she explained, Goodfellow Bros. stepped up and utilized their in-house expertise to remedy the problem.
The second phase, undertaken by Hawaiian Dredging, did not fare well. “Island Landscaping & Maintenance (an O‘ahu-based company selected by Hawaiian Dredging as the subcontractor) neglected the weeds,” said Shibuya. “And once they were established, it was like chasing a rainbow… you never get there.” Ultimately, the grass died. “The state is not paying” for replanting, said Shibuya, which means the contractor and subcontractor must foot the bill.
The third and fourth phases, completed by Goodfellow Bros. and Diversified Machinery, respectively, utilized Kihei Gardens as their subcontractor. So far, these sections of grass are doing fairly well. “Even though it looks brown, in areas where it is established it should eventually do well,” said Shibuya. Goodfellow Bros. brought in Hydroseed Hawai‘i as their landscaping subcontractor for the final phase. The company has had success “hydrosprigging,” a method that sprays a hydromulch mixture of akiaki cuttings.
To date, only the first phase has completed its three-year maintenance period. Shibuya hopes the grass there will thrive once it receives some rain. Ultimately, she hopes all the grass on the 6.5-mile highway takes root and flourishes. After the maintenance periods have run out on all five phases, the state will secure and retain the services of a landscaping contractor on an ongoing basis. By then, she said, the grass should be weaned off water and the temporary irrigation system removed.
Perhaps nowhere is the objective of preserving the native culture, language, traditions and environment more critical and commendable than in Hawai‘i. But as we often see, that commitment may come with a price.