Urging The City And County Of Honolulu To Work With Stakeholders To Construct An Emergency Access Road On The Waianae Coast.
H.R. 43 is a House Resolution urging the City and County of Honolulu to work with the United States military, the Hawaii Department of Transportation, and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to develop an emergency access road along the Waiʻanae Coast. The resolution is framed as a public safety measure, citing the importance of having more than one route in and out of a developed area and referencing lessons drawn from the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, where blocked or limited evacuation routes worsened the emergency response. It specifically notes that Farrington Highway is currently the only access road in and out of Waiʻanae and that existing alternatives, including Paakea and Lualualei Naval roads and Kolekole Pass, are inadequate for reliable emergency evacuation.
The resolution asks that the proposed route benefit the communities of Waiʻanae, Mākaha, Māʻili, and Nānākuli. It also requests that the City and County of Honolulu hold community events to discuss the project and solicit resident input, and that it provide the Legislature with plans and a completion timeline by twenty days before the 2026 Regular Session. The measure is a request and expression of legislative support rather than a binding mandate, but it is intended to push local and military stakeholders toward planning and coordination.
The bill’s impact on state law is limited because it is a resolution, not a statute. It does not create new legal requirements, funding, or regulatory authority. Instead, it formally communicates the House’s position and encourages intergovernmental collaboration on emergency preparedness and transportation planning for the Waiʻanae Coast. Its practical effect would be to elevate the issue within state and local planning discussions and to seek a progress report from the City and County of Honolulu.
General sentiment around the resolution appears strongly supportive and safety-focused. The discussion embedded in the bill text emphasizes wildfire evacuation lessons, traffic congestion, and the need for redundancy in emergency routes. There is no recorded committee testimony or vote history in the provided materials, so there is no evidence of organized opposition in the available record.
The main points of contention implied by the resolution are logistical and geographic rather than ideological: whether an emergency access road can be built safely and feasibly, how it would connect through military or city-controlled land, and whether existing routes can be improved instead. The resolution also highlights concerns about landslides, narrow road segments, locked gates, and community access, suggesting that coordination among the city, military, and residents may be the central challenge.
This resolution does not amend Hawaii statutes or impose enforceable duties; it functions as a formal legislative urging directed at the City and County of Honolulu and partner agencies. Its practical impact is to encourage planning, interagency coordination, public outreach, and reporting on an emergency access road for the Waiʻanae Coast, with particular attention to evacuation capacity and community safety.
The overall sentiment is supportive and urgent, driven by public safety concerns and the desire to prevent a repeat of evacuation failures seen in the Lahaina wildfire. The resolution reflects consensus that the Waiʻanae Coast needs a reliable alternative access route, and the text shows a proactive, collaborative tone toward local government, the military, and emergency management agencies. No votes or committee transcripts were provided, so there is no documented opposition in the available record.
The likely areas of contention are feasibility, land access, and jurisdictional coordination. The resolution acknowledges that current routes are inadequate and that Kolekole Pass has terrain and landslide risks, which suggests debate over whether a new road can be built safely and where it should run. Another potential issue is the need to work across city, state, and military stakeholders, as well as balancing emergency access needs with community input and environmental or infrastructure constraints.