A study to identify possible alternative traffic routes out of Puna could begin in early 2025.

The goal of the Puna Alternate Route Study is to find potential locations for an alternate route to Puna with the goal of reducing the district’s reliance on Highway 130, its only major transit corridor , subject to heavy traffic jams.

Efforts to develop an alternative route intensified following Kilauea’s 2018 eruption, when magma beneath the highway caused the roadway to bulge and crack, leading residents to fear the road would be entirely cut off.

In 2021, Puna Rep. Greggor Ilagan secured $1 million in state funds for an initial study, with Hawaii County providing an additional $500,000. The county board ultimately decided to accept the state funds — albeit after briefly rejecting them in January — and added another $500,000 to the county’s share, bringing the project’s total funding to $2 million of dollars.

However, county Public Works Director Steve Pause said the study won’t begin until early 2025 and the scope of the project has not yet been defined and no consultants have been selected.

Pause said via email that DPW is working with the county Department of Finance to secure the state’s $1 million contribution for the project. According to him, this should be resolved before the end of the year.

The additional $500,000 from county funds added to the initial state allocation will be used to expand the scope of the project.

Ilagan told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that the county could not use the $1.5 million initially allocated in 2021 for anything outside of what that allocation specified: in this case, a study of possible alternative routes for Highway 130.

Using additional funds from the county, the study can be expanded to the mauka areas of the highway.

Pause noted via email that the name of the study was changed from Puna Makai Alternate Route Study to Puna Alternate Route Study, dropping the “Makai” specification.

Ilagan told the Tribune-Herald he suspects the impending election has slowed the process.

“Depending on who the next mayor is, he’ll be the one to carry the torch,” Ilagan said, adding that while current Mayor Mitch Roth has supported the project, an administration shakeup could leave the study up in the air. limbo. “I don’t blame them; it’s the right decision. You need to know who your mayor is before you do anything.

Meanwhile, Ilagan said no additional funding for the study would be provided by the state.

“This funding was secured years ago, and it was hard enough to get,” he said.

Puna Council Member Matt Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder said other state lawmakers, including Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, suggested at a recent public meeting the possibility of adding the study to the list of state capital improvement projects. However, San Buenaventura did not respond in time to requests for comment for this story.