State Gives Nearly $5M For Kauai School, Bridge Repairs
The money will provide critical infrastructure improvements — and badly needed jobs.
Nearly $5 million in state funding is headed to Kauai for repairs and improvements to the Wailua River Bridge, Kapaa High School, Kilauea Elementary School and the road to Kokee State Park.
The vast majority of the money will fund repairs to the Wailua River Bridge, which was damaged by trees and other debris that accumulated on the piers of the bridge during a late March rain storm.
The money arrives on the heels of the return of a 14-day quarantine for all travelers to Kauai County. Last week Kauai effectively shut down its tourism sector again when Gov. David Ige approved a request from Mayor Derek Kawakami to bring back the quarantine due to rising COVID-19 case counts.
The decision to opt out of the state Safe Travels program, which launched statewide on Oct. 15, brought about a new round of job losses on the Garden Isle.
Not only will the money facilitate critical infrastructure improvements, but it will also provide badly needed jobs to unemployed Kauai residents still reeling from the economic devastation born of the coronavirus pandemic, Senate President Ronald Kochi said in a prepared statement.
Funding details:
- $3,900,000Â for permanent repairs to the Wailua River Bridge
- $450,000 for improvements at Kapaa High School
- $325,000 to repair and resurface the playcourt at Kilauea Elementary School
- $100,000 for road improvements on Waimea Canyon Drive/Kokee Road
