Community group files lawsuit against Roth, Hawaii County over Waipio Valley Road closure

Government
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Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth | Mayor Mitch Roth/Facebook

Waipio Valley Road in Hawaii County has been closed for health and safety reasons since February 25, and residents have grown frustrated with the closure and have since run investigations into the validity of the safety concerns about the road.

Following an investigation that showed the road doesn’t pose a risk great enough to warrant the closure, the group filed a lawsuit against the county and mayor. 

The wheels of justice are now beginning to turn, with the case slated for a hearing on July 22, a recent Hawaii News Now report said. Malama I Ke Kaio Waipio is the community group behind the lawsuit, and its website notes that its goal is to ensure a “thriving Waipio Valley.” The group has been at odds with Hawaii County Mayor Mitchell Roth, who issued Emergency Rule No. 1 on Feb. 25, closing the road.

"Waipio Valley Road is in imminent threat of slope and roadway failure threatening the health, safety, and welfare of the people,” Roth said in the rule. 

For its part, the Malama I Ke Kaio Waipio action cites a study on the road by Panos Prevedouros, a University of Hawaii at Manoa professor and civil engineer, who found little risk to pedestrians or vehicles; a report by Big Island Now said. The study found pedestrian risk of dying from rockfall while on the road to be 1 in 5 million and 1 in 17 million for a vehicle occupant. In the study Roth used, pedestrians had a 1 in 18,000 chance of dying from rockfall and vehicle occupants had a 1 in 170,000 chance of dying, both much higher risks.

The road is the steepest in the nation, with a 39% grade at its steepest point, a Condé Nast Traveler report said. 

The Honolulu Civil Beat reported that the road is expected to be closed for at least three years. It did not say, however, that the road should be closed.

As a defendant in the legal action, Roth has declined comment to multiple news outlets, citing restrictions against discussing pending litigation; the Hawaii News Now report said.