Maui County receives $13.4M federal grant to fund safety improvements for Lahaina’s Keawe Street : Maui Now

Maui County, Hawai‘i County and the City and County of Honolulu will receive more than $18 million in federal grants from the US Department of Transportation for projects to improve safety on roads and sidewalks, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) announced.

Maui receives the biggest grant at $13.4 million to fund safety improvements on Keawe Street in Lahaina.

The funding comes from the federal transportation department’s “Safe Streets and Roads for All” program that Schatz helped create as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Schatz worked with the counties and advocated for these projects with transportation department.

“Our roads should be safe for everyone to get around, including pedestrians and cyclists,” said Schatz, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, in a press release. 

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said: “Besides prioritizing safety, this grant comes at a critical time to support rebuilding our Lahaina community.”

The grants to Hawai‘i include:

• $13.4 million for project for Keawe Street, which leads to the Lahaina Bypass. It includes crosswalks improvements, pedestrian refuge islands, roundabouts, and a buffered bicycle lane to separate vehicular traffic from pedestrians and cyclists. These improvements will enhance road safety for all users and support other development efforts in the surrounding area.
• $3.3 million to the Hawai‘i County to update the Hawai‘i Island Vision Zero Action Plan. The funding also will be used to pilot technology demonstration activities to design and test innovative ways to improve pedestrian safety.
• $1.6 million to the City and County of Honolulu for additional planning activities around solutions for pedestrian and bike safety improvements across seven corridors in the downtown Honolulu area.