Dozens of community members gathered July 8 for an informational meeting about planned repairs to the breakwater in Laupahoehoe, which juts out about 100 feet from the rocky coastline.

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Dozens of community members gathered July 8 for an informational meeting about planned repairs to the breakwater in Laupahoehoe, which juts out about 100 feet from the rocky coastline.

Built in 1988 by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, coastal engineer and technical lead for the project Jessica Podoski said the structure has degraded over time.

“It was about a 38-year-old structure,” she said at the meeting. “Many of you may have seen it over the years, and recognize that it’s in a very high wave energy environment, a very exposed area here, so that stone-filled core … that’s the center of the structure, that has deteriorated.”

While the repairs will solely focus on the breakwater itself, specifically the core, and work will only be done within its existing footprint, numerous community members raised concerns about the boat ramp adjacent to the breakwater, which is managed by Hawaii County.

The ramp was built in collaboration with USACE around the same time as the breakwater, and the two were meant to work in tandem to provide a safe entry and exit point to the ocean. However, residents said it has not functioned as intended and that the county has failed to maintain the ramp to a usable level for years.

County Parks and Recreation Director Clayton Honma was present at the meeting and said designs for repairing the boat ramp are 95% complete, but that the county is waiting to begin the work until after the USACE breakwater repairs are completed.

“The erosion of the ramp is happening because of the wave action that is coming up and down the ramp, dragging the rocks to erode out that ramp as it is,” Honma said at the meeting. “So, if we put in the ramp without the breakwater trying to break away the wave action or the surge that is going there, we’re only going to be putting in a ramp to be kind of damaged again.”

However, community members were skeptical that the repairs planned by the USACE would make a significant difference to wear and tear on the ramp.

Lisa Barton, a long-time resident and coordinator of the Laupahoehoe Train Museum, said it seemed like the county was using the breakwater project as a reason to justify not doing regular maintenance or repairs to the ramp.

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“I think they thoroughly can use it as an excuse because, of course, there’s going to be wave action, and I just don’t think their (USACE’s) repairs are going to stop the wave action,” she said after the meeting. “All they (the county) need to do is go and maintain what we have.”

The ramp has been closed by the county since 2009, leaving the region without a place to launch boats, limiting emergency access and making it more difficult for locals to fish the waters that once helped sustain them. The next closest boat access points are in Hilo and Kawaihae, both about an hour away.

Lifelong Laupahoehoe resident and fisher John Martinez said the harbor worked better before the boat ramp and breakwater were installed. Previously, boaters had entered the water via a ramp in a different location, which he said was better situated with regard to the direction of the waves. He said he recently gave up his boat due to not having a safe, nearby place to launch it.

However, along with expressing frustrations, community members acknowledged that removing or substantially redesigning the breakwater and ramp is unlikely to be a feasible option at this point. With this in mind, some present at the meeting voiced support for the repair plans to move forward.

“This is what we have, this is how they’re presenting it, and the only way we’re ever going to see the ramp fixed is if this breakwater gets repaired,” Barton said.

USACE staff said the agency still needs to determine the cost of the anticipated work and apply for federal funding, which is in competition with other projects across the country. While representatives at the meeting said they are relatively confident the necessary money will be secured, they urged residents to reach out to their elected representatives to express their support and highlight the need for the work.

Once the funding is in place, USACE will put out a bid for contractors, with work likely to begin in 2028 and take between 18 to 24 months to complete.

More information about the breakwater repair project can be found at tinyurl.com/yr6zxhb9.

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Email Grace Inez Adams at [email protected].