State Seal

 

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

 

News Release

     LINDA LINGLE              

           GOVERNOR

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

                                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                              PETER T. YOUNG, CHAIRPERSON

                                                                                                                                              Phone: (808) 587-0401

                                                                                                                                              Fax: (808) 587-0390

                                                                                                                                             

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release: February 10, 2006

  

Kahului Boat Ramp To Reopen For Weekend Use

KAHULUI — Starting February 11, 2006, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will reopen the Kahului Boat Ramp to limited public use on weekends only. During weekdays and on Saturday, February 25, 2006, the ramp will be closed until construction at the site can be completed.

DLNR and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are implementing a construction project which includes the dredging of the entrance channel and turning basin, demolishing the existing ramp and breakwater, constructing a new breakwater, adding a three-lane boat launch ramp and two loading docks, and miscellaneous improvements. Most of the work is substantially complete, except for one of the loading docks (Dock A), which is being manufactured on the mainland and is scheduled for delivery to the site by the end of February.

“The department wishes to acknowledge the hard work and diligence of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DLNR Maui staff and the contractor Healy Tibbitts Builders,” said Peter Young, DLNR Chairperson.

“We have received a flood of calls from Maui’s recreational fishermen who are eager to use the ramp, and we have decided that it is safe to allow interim use of the working portion of the ramp while construction continues on the weekdays,” he said.

"Fishers have waited for completion of this project for 20 years. We want to do the job right but we also want to serve the best interests of the public," said Young. "Opening the ramp for weekend use is a good compromise that will still allow us to complete construction within approximately a month's time." he said.

“DLNR continues to seek public input and support in its continuing efforts to make the Kahului Boat Ramp facility a gathering place for fishermen, families and the Maui community,” he said.

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For more information, contact:
Deborah Ward
DLNR Public Information Specialist
Phone: (808) 587-0 320