Local News

Kolekole Pass ready to use as an emergency exit for Waiʻanae Coast communities

Hawaiʻi Public Radio | By Savannah Harriman-Pote

Published April 14, 2025 at 12:42 PM HST

Military personnel transit Kolekole Pass during an exercise with state and local officials at Lualualei Naval Complex on Feb. 5, 2025. The exercise simulated the use of Kolekole Pass as a potential evacuation route during an emergency. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Courtney Strahan) — Military personnel transit Kolekole Pass during an exercise with state and local officials at Lualualei Naval Complex on Feb. 5, 2025. The exercise simulated the use of Kolekole Pass as a potential evacuation route during an emergency.

Kolekole Pass is ready to use as an emergency exit route out of Oʻahu's Waiʻanae Coast communities in the case of a disaster.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has been working with the U.S. Army and Navy to make repairs to Kolekole Pass so that it's safe for residential use.

The first phase of that work was completed last December, according to DOT Director Ed Sniffen.

While the military-controlled road still requires some maintenance, Sniffen said it would "absolutely" be available this summer as an evacuation route in case of an emergency like a wildfire.

"The protocols are in place for the military to open the gate, protect their areas and make sure people get out safely," he said.

Army and Navy personnel work with the Honolulu Emergency Management Department and the Hawai’i Emergency Management Agency on emergency access through Kolekole Pass.

When HPR spoke with Sniffen last summer about Kolekole Pass, he estimated that repairs would cost about $20 million. The work was actually in the neighborhood of $2 million to $5 million, he told HPR last week, and that amount is coming out of the state's highway budget.

In the future, Kolekole may need additional investments, including the replacement of a single-lane bridge along the route.

"It's in really good condition. Its load capacity is fine," Sniffen said. "We don't see a need to replace that bridge yet, but if we put that cost in, it's going to be $30 million to $40 million."

Residents of the Waiʻanae Coast, which has only one way in and out, have long raised concerns about the heightened vulnerability of their community during a disaster.

The opening of Kolekole Pass to escape to Central Oʻahu may offer some relief, but Sniffen pointed out that it might not make sense for everyone to take that route in an emergency.

"Not everybody on the coast will be going up Kolekole Pass if there's a fire," he said. "So [Honolulu Department of Emergency Management] and HiEMA are working on protocols to see if a fire occurs in Nānākuli, who would be moving up that route?"

Sniffen said his department is planning a series of community meetings to discuss when and how Kolekole Pass will be used during an evacuation.

Kolekole Pass links Schofield Barracks and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam's Lualualei Annex in Nānākuli.