Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 2022 — Public Solicitations Expected for DHHL lnfrastructure Projects [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Public Solicitations Expected for DHHL lnfrastructure Projects

'O KA NUHOU 'AINA HO'OPULAPULA * HOMESTEAD NEWS '

By Cedric Duarte In the last three years, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) has received increased funding toward Capital Improvement Projects to develop new homestead lots for beneficiaries and make critical repair and maintenance improvements for aging homesteads. With these new allocations in hand, DHHL is pushing forward to clear the backlog of construction projects awaiting funding. DHHL's Land Development Division is preparing $24 million in statewide infrastructure projects to go out for puhlie solicitation in 2022. Projects anticipated for puhlie solicitation in the coming year range from infrastructure development for the expansion of a homestead subdivision in West O'ahu to maintenance and drainage improvements in one of the agency s oldest homestead communities. In 2021, DHHL completed house eonstruction for 160 homestead lots in the Ka'uluokaha'i subdivision in East Kapolei, O'ahu. Infrastructure construction plans for the second increment consisting of 130 homestead lots in East Kapolei are being reviewed by the City & County of Honolulu. An Invitation for Bid is anticipated for early 2022. Traffic-calming measures in Nānākuli and Waimānalo on O'ahu to increase and improve safety for area residents are forthcoming, as is the final phase of improvement work for the Waiokeola Stream Drainage Channel in East O'ahu. DHHL also has designs completed or underway for nearly $100 million worth of infrastructure projects throughout the state. These projects have been funded

but are awaiting final permitting and approvals before solicitations ean be made. Among the long-awaited projects anticipating approval are road improvements in Pu'ukapu, Hawai'i Island, and in Kahikinui, Maui. The declining efficiency of the sewer systems in Papakōlea and Wai'anae also need to be addressed, while water system improvements in Ho'olehua and Ka u have reached the final phases of completion. New lot development readying in Hanapēpē on Kaua'i, and in Central and Upcountry Maui, and on Moloka'i will move DHHL closer to awarding 99-year homestead leases to Hawaiian Homes Commission Act beneficiaries. The projects in the Infrastructure Construction phase of development that are finally going out to bid in 2022 are just a few of the many needed to meet the needs of Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. DHHL also has several projects in its production pipeline that are either in the early stages of planning with beneficiaries to envision future homestead communities, the environmental review stage of development, or are in the design and engineering phase. These projects would create new housing or agricultural opportunities in Kekaha, Anahola, Wailuku, West Maui, 'Ualapu'e, Honomū, Kealakehe, East Kapolei, Mā'ili, and Mō'ili'ili. ■ For more information on DHHL's planning and construction projects, visit dhhl. hawaii.gov/po. Cedric R. Duarte is the Information & Community Relations Officer for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. He has worked in communications and marketing since 1999 and is a longtime event organizer. A product of Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, he resides in 'Aiea with his wife and two daughters.