Schatz: Hawai‘i To Receive More Than $5.2 Million To Protect People On Kamehameha Highway From Dangerous Coastal Erosion, Rockfalls In Ka‘a‘awa, Pūpūkea

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is awarding Hawai‘i with two grants totaling more than $5.2 million to protect and strengthen Kamehameha Highway.

“Thousands of people on O‘ahu rely on Kamehameha Highway every day to get to where they need to go, whether that’s school or work. But rockfalls and erosion can cause disruptive traffic delays and can be dangerous. This new funding will help strengthen Kamehameha Highway so that we can prevent these kinds of events and keep people safe,” said Senator Schatz, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation.

The two grants from USDOT’s Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program will be used to protect Kamehameha Highway by installing a coastal barrier to prevent erosion in Ka‘a‘awa and to replace an existing fence to protect the highway from rockfalls in Pupukea.

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