Community Works Together To Repave North Road
State Rep. Bob McDermott shows what a big difference that paving North Road has made. Photo from Rep. McDermott’s office.
McDermott’s Message…Rep. Bob McDermott
I have great news for you regarding an update on North Road in Ewa Beach.
What you may not know is that the previously dilapidated North Road has three owners. Sharing responsibility for the care and upkeep are the Navy, Ewa Beach Golf Course, and the City and County of Honolulu.
As you can imagine, nailing down which entity is responsible for each section of the road took some degree of investigation.
The community demanded action, and the neighborhood board echoed their concerns. I called a meeting involving state Sen. Will Espero and City Council- members Ron Menor and Kymberly Pine, along with their staffers Dennis Galolo and Kiran Polk. Also included at the meeting was Ewa Neighborhood Board member Cesar Caoili, the lessors of Iroquois Point, Carmel Partner’s Tom Tschudin, Ewa Beach Golf Course manager Liane Otake and representative for the Navy Clint Miller.
My immediate concern was to ensure safety issues were addressed and also work with Councilmembers Pine and Menor to see if the city could come up with a more permanent solution.
This was a collaborative effort in working together with all parties interested in finding a solution to the problem. No finger pointing, just looking to fix the issue and develop a long-term preventative maintenance program.
We identified the portion of the road that the Navy owns, and they fixed their portion of the road within a week. The blazing-fast speed was much appreciated.
Ewa Beach Golf Course then proceeded to fill in the pot holes in the approximately 800-yard section of the road that it owns, which immediately precedes the entrance to Iroquois Point heading Diamond Head. This parcel is situated between the city’s portion and the Navy’s portion.
The city’s portion of the road is in great shape, having been repaved not so long ago. Short-term safety issues were addressed as quickly as possible. Then, those involved shifted focus to the longer-term solution.
The consensus solution was to get the city to agree to pave the non-Navy owned portions of the road. I must give our great City Councilman Ron Menor credit at this point because he had to do the heavy lifting at the city. We held subsequent meetings where the golf course management agreed to give the city permission to repave the road. Menor and Pine worked hard to get this done.
Because this section is a private road, there were a lot of legal hurdles to jump over, but Menor and the city made it happen.
This entire effort was an example of what can be accomplished when elected officials work together and do not care who gets the credit. I salute Menor and Pine, along with their staff, for listening to our community concerns and addressing the infrastructure needs of Ewa Beach.
State Rep. Bob McDermott represents District 40 – Ewa, Ewa Beach and Iroquois Point. Call him at 586-9730 or email repmcdermott@capitol.hawaii.gov.
