Ige Announces Funds For Several Kauaʻi Capital Improvement Projects

Gov. David Ige on Tuesday, April 12, announced more than $276 million for capital improvement projects throughout the state that were released in February and March, including nearly $14 million for several Kauaʻi projects.

“These investments in communities around the state provide the best and most direct way to drive our economy and create jobs for our people, and they help to improve the daily experience of our residents and those who visit Hawaiʻi,” said Ige in a press release.

The Kauaʻi projects that will benefit from the release of these funds are:

Kūhiō Highway emergency shoreline mitigation

• Ige released $1,150,000 to finance design and construction for a Kūhiō Highway emergency shoreline mitigation project in the vicinity of Wailua Beach. The project’s total price tag is estimated at $5,750,000 and it is expected to be completed in August of this year.

Kūhiō Highway, Wailua River Bridge

• The governor released $8 million to finance additional construction for repairs to the Wailua River Bridge along Kūhiō Highway. The project is estimated to cost a total of $70 million and expected to be finished in December 2023.

Līhuʻe Airport

• Ige released $3,848,000 to finance the design and construction costs to relocate Runway 3-21 at Līhuʻe Airport. The total project cost is expected to be $7,353,000 and it is estimated to be completed in June 2024.

Department of Defense, Kapaʻa Middle School, Buildings H and I, hardening for hurricane shelters

• The governor released $40,000 for the allotment of additional construction contingency funds and to transfer funds to the Works of Art special fund. The project is estimated to cost a total of $1,718,990 and be finished by June of this year.

Kauaʻi Veterans Memorial Hospital

• This project will revert and reallot unused equipment funds for design and construction related to the purchase and installation of a CT scanner machine at Kauaʻi Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waimea. Ige released $395,952 for the project, which has an estimated total price of $2,635,590 and is expected to be finished in February 2023.

Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital

• This project will revert and reallot unused equipment funds for design and construction related to the purchase and installation of a CT scan machine at Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital in Kapaʻa. The governor released $454,982 in CIP funds for this project, which has an estimated total cost of $2,750,884 and should be completed in February 2023.

“By working together, we can solve the great challenges of our time, create a more sustainable Hawaiʻi and establish the Hawaiian Islands as a place where future generations choose to call home,” Ige said in a letter to the state Legislature announcing the release of the capital improvement funds that was included with the press release.