Nawiliwili and Port Allen to be expanded, revamped
Is there a Pier 0 in Nawiliwili Harbor’s near-future?
The state Department of Transportation Harbors Division, envisioning continued growth in cargo and passenger ship arrivals and departures, is considering what in effect could be a fourth pier, where the former Club Jetty restaurant and night club was located.
It’s part of the Kaua’i Commercial Harbors 2025 Master Plan. The Nawiliwili portion will be presented at a public meeting this Friday at 7 p.m. at the DOT Harbors Division district office at 3242 Wa’apa Road in Nawiliwili.
The Port Allen portion of the plan will be presented at another meeting Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
The proposals are only for the commercial portions of both harbors, and don’t involve the small-boat harbors at each location.
Further, officials said, the plans are preliminary and subject to change based on environmental and technical studies which will be conducted, and based also on public input at this week’s meetings.
The commercial harbors’ users and tenants have signed off on the plans, however, and separate Kaua’i-based task forces of users, tenants, governmental agencies and the general public have been meeting to formulate these draft plans.
Where Nawiliwili is concerned, the plan calls for extension of piers 2 and 3 to meet and provide room for more than one cruise ship or combination of cruise and cargo vessels to tie up at the same time.
“Pier 0” is envisioned to be either a place for cargo ships or, in light wind conditions, passenger ships.
It is the cargo facilities that, because of their importance in the bringing in nearly everything the island’s residents and visitors consume, wear, drive or otherwise utilize that are the state’s focal point.
Nawiliwili Harbor has the necessary acreage to support anticipated cargo levels through the life of the draft plan.
Port Allen stands to look much different in future years than it does today, beginning with the removal of the existing pier where Navy and myriad commercial tour and cargo operations take place.
The idea is to move the Navy to a new pier constructed with federal funds along the breakwater south of the existing commercial pier. Cargo operations would share a portion of that new pier. Room for a passenger terminal and potential space for cruise ships near the ocean end of Waialo Road is also envisioned, with the new piers forming an L shape with the Kaua’i Electric power plant and related operations.
Additional acreage seen as necessary for Port Allen commercial harbor expansion is expected to come from Alexander & Baldwin Inc., plus land the state plans to reclaim on the south side of Waialo Road.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
