LIHU‘E — Lihu‘e Airport is the only airport in the United States without a standard runway safety area required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
That will change in a few years, when the state Department of Transportation completes the Runway 3-21 Relocation Project at Kaua‘i’s primary airport.
The state allocated nearly $3.9 million in capital improvement project monies to the project last month.
“Lihue … was given an exemption by FAA because it was infeasible to have a standard RSA at LIH,” state Department of Transportation spokesperson Jai Cunningham told The Garden Island in an email.
“However, FAA has since stated that there is an alternative to increase the RSA by relocating (shifting) the runway, which is what this project will do,” Cunningham continued. “The project will shift the runway 855 feet to the west.”
RSAs are defined surfaces surrounding runways, typically 500 feet wide and extending 1,000 feet beyond each runway end, according to the FAA.
The graded areas are intended to provide safety in cases of aircraft overruns, undershoots or aircraft veering off course.
That’s important to note, according to Cunningham, who said the Lihu‘e runway relocation project “will not expand the runway to accommodate more planes or bring more visitors to the island.”
The $3,848,000 in CIP funding goes toward the $7,353,000 total cost of design and construction management.
The DOT expects to advertise the project this September and issue a notice to proceed with construction in May 2023.
Construction will cost an estimated $70 million, and is slated to conclude in February 2025.
Completed, ongoing and planned airport improvements throughout Hawai‘i can be viewed online at hawaiiairportsmodernization.com.
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Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
