Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Wednesday (July 25) signed a disaster proclamation authorizing emergency repairs to Kaumualii Highway on Kauai in order “to prevent imminent collapse resulting from wave erosion.” 

Press release:

The soil foundation adjacent to a section of Kaumualiꞌi Highway in the Kakaha area, located on the southwest shore of Kauaꞌi, has sustained significant erosion damage caused by waves. From July 16 to 19, waves eroded approximately 15 feet of the highway shoulder. Continual wave action will undermine the highway pavement and the sewer force main running beneath the highway, necessitating its immediate repair and reconstruction. 

This section of Kaumualiꞌi Highway is a two-lane highway and the only route providing access to the west end of Kauaꞌi, the county landfill, the wastewater treatment plant and the Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands. 

The environmental permitting, design and construction of the repairs to this highway is expected to take more than a year to complete.