The Puna district is one of the fastest-growing parts of Hawaiʻi Island — and it’s also facing serious traffic congestion.
For decades, Puna residents commuting to and from the city center of Hilo more than 10 miles away have had only one choice – Highway 130, also known as the Keaʻau Pāhoa Road.
Rep. Gregor Ilagan, who represents Puna, said residents in his district have seen their 20-minute drives to and from Hilo double or even triple in recent years. He said traffic volumes along Highway 130 peak upwards of 20,000 vehicles a day in each direction.
"There’s more people, more cars," Ilagan said. "There's only one way in and out from Puna to Hilo. Some people are even driving all the way to Kona for work, and we rely on Highway 130 to get us to where we need to go."
Ilagan said this traffic congestion has impacted the quality of life for Puna residents and he has introduced legislation to survey alternative routes between Puna and Hilo. The most identifiable alternative is an existing road known as Railroad Avenue. Part of the road was improved for emergency access during the 2009 volcanic eruption, but other sections need work.
"As you are seeing right now, this road is not even paved and the width of this road is very small. It looks like a one-way road," Ilagan said. "If this were to be constructed as the commuter road, then it would definitely need to be built out."
He doubts existing homeowners will be open to relocating, but he wanted to study all possibilities. Ilagan said there are two other options: Beach Corridor, which runs closer to the ocean; and the Middle Corridor, which runs between Railroad Avenue and the Beach Corridor.
"The Beach Corridor has a lot of conservation areas that the road would have to go through," Ilagan said. "So do we want to go through all of that to build the road? The Middle Corridor, there’s a lot of non-existing road that we would have to pave through. And then closer to Highway 130, which is where Railroad is, there’s an existing road, but would it be the most viable option? Or do we have to link that road up with another road and combine the two?"
Those are questions he hopes a site survey can answer. House Bill 1403 would require the state Department of Transportation work with Hawaiʻi County to survey potential locations for an alternate route to Highway 130. The measure crossed over to the Senate and is awaiting a hearing with the Committees on Transportation and Ways and Means.
