HANALEI – U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye took part in a blessing ceremony for the recently rebuilt Hanalei Bridge held Saturday afternoon. Members of the Hanalei Roads Committee have waged a 25-plus year battle to save the bridge, which was scheduled
HANALEI – U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye took part in a blessing ceremony for the recently rebuilt Hanalei Bridge held Saturday afternoon.
Members of the Hanalei Roads Committee have waged a 25-plus year battle to save the bridge, which was scheduled to be replaced at one time with a modern concrete structure.
Inouye said the five-year project that cost about $2 million in federal funds to complete was something the North Shore community should be proud of. ‘It’s an example of what can happen when true cooperation takes place,” Inouye said of the work by the Hanalei organization in coordination with the state of Hawai‘i’s Department of Transportation and federal agencies.
The group’s efforts have resulted in the bridge being replicated with a new steel structure that is a close duplicate of the original truss bridge built at Hanalei in 1912. A second truss, constructed in the 1960s, sits underneath the landmark overhead bridge structure, and bears much of the weight of traffic crossing over the Hanalei River.
Prior to the reconstruction, parts of the rusting structure were encased in chicken wire to keep pieces from falling onto traffic below. A national travel magazine rated the bridge one of the most dangerous in the United States.
The community at Hanalei consider the bridge the gateway to the Hanalei and Ha‘ena areas, which are considered some of the most beautiful areas in all Hawai‘i.
The bridge has been kept to one lane, and is now considered an historical monument, as well as a bridge.
Speakers at the blessing included Inouye, state Department of Transportation deputy director Bruce Matsui, Abe Wong of the Federal Highways Administration, Makaala Ka‘aumoana of the Hanalei Watershed Hui, plus Barbara Robeson and Carol Wilcox of the Hanalei Roads Committee.
