Hawaiian Electric started replacing wooden utility poles with steel and composite materials along Honoapi’ilani Highway in Lahaina as part of wildfire risk reduction efforts. The two-year project will focus on critical evacuation routes while underground lines remain limited due to costs.
- Crews are replacing 20 wooden poles with 19 stronger steel or composite poles along a 2-mile stretch of Honoapi’ilani Highway through June.
- The work targets the main southern evacuation route from Lahaina where homes are being rebuilt and a new county community center is planned.
- HECO will continue pole hardening along critical corridors toward Kā’anapali Parkway through 2028.
- Underground power lines will be limited to strategic locations due to high costs and funding questions.
- The project aims to strengthen infrastructure along important evacuation routes as part of wildfire safety strategy.
Source: Maui Now
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