Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 29

rrvy I wahiawaLX I I 7v KANEOHE BAY I Federal cutback throws -I plans into slow gear By KAY LUND SCHEDULED TO START IN 1967 WA1AWATO WAIAU-UNIT 1(DRRED) 0 KUNIA TO WAIKELE I sf TO BE COMPLETED OCT. 1967 i i PFI ST Tfl VPTTIRIA TT kPPAl IMOICII CT V'0 the rest by the State.) But Sur says the severity of the slowdown depends on how long the cutbacks remain. He said the a of PuDlic Roads has indicated that the State should plan on )mKEliTOWA SCHEDULED TO START IN 1967 v-0 VY (DEFERRED) fj --fc-k (U KAPIOLANI INTERCHANGE IA A WAIAWA INTERCHANGE CDEFERREjlfV Jjj 10 BE COMPLETED SEPT 1967 wStT" LX KOKO HEAD AVE.TD 21 ST AVE. ''lcP, srie- SQ TO BE COMPLETED DEC 1967. baWs-f-l COMPLETED SECTIONS Jt UNDER CONSTRUCTION 7 PLANNED KOKO HEAD 21 ST AVE.

TO AINAKOA DEFERRED) py about it, but we're doing everything we can," said deputy director Sur. He said the Federal Government has extended the deadline of the Federal interstate highway program from 1972 until 1973. 20-month job and the second a 15- to 18-month construction project. Upon completion of these projects, a traveler will enjoy uninterrupted freeway travel along interstate H-l from 21st Avenue (near the Waialae Drive-In Theatre) across town to the vicinity of Moanalua Park. Bids on the Waikele Stream project in Leeward Oahu will be advertised in April through June, depending on progress of acquisi tion of rights.

The total amount of Federal road-building funds, which the Administration decided to withhold last November, was $700 million for the 50 states. "Certainly we're not hap had intended to spend $49.6 million in Federal funds on highway; eonstruc-, tion during the current fiscal year. This has been hopped back to slightly over $28 million; But despite the discouraging aspects of these figures, Sur finds a ray of sunlight in Hawaii's progress on Interstate road-building. "This $28.3 million is still substantially above last year's $18.6 million "of construction. This is healthy and not cause for alarm," Sur said.

Three Federal interstate highway projects, under way at the time of the President's directive, are not affected by the money cutback. These are the $5.5 million Kapiolani Interchange, a stretch of freew a from Koko Head to 21st Avenue and a mile-long portion of H-l from Kunia Road to Waikele Stream. For the past two months, the State Highways Division has been going over their highway program with a fine tooth comb to determine which projects should be pushed ahead. Not deletion "I want to emphasize that the cutback is basically a deferral, not an elimination or deletion of funds," Sur said. "At no time has the Federal Government ever implied that this was permanent." In terms of construction, Sur said there is no question that Hawaii has been slowed down as a result of the ceilings imposed on spending.

(Hawaii's entire Federal interstate highway system totals 50 miles: Nine-tenths of the $320 million cost, a 1965 estimate, is absorbed by the Federal Government and Sur stressed that the Governor, Legislature and Transportation Department are deeply concerned about the withholding of funds and resulting impact on Hawaii's highways and the construction industry. He said they now are "exploring means" of finding supplemental State finds, to keep the highway program moving at a more rapid pace than the cutback allows. The a i cutback in Federal highway funds last November was a severe blow to a a i i 's program and chopped its planned construction by 50 percent for the coming months. President Johnson ordered the ceilings on Federal highway spending as a means of halting rising inflation and meeting the heavy costs of the Vietnam war. The re a of Public Roads pared Hawaii 's 1966-67 Federal road allocation from $30 million to $25 million, and it is reported that an additional $3 million cutback is under consideration.

Funds 'frozen' To make it worse, the Bureau "froze" another $55 million which represented the balance on hand from unused funds, making that nest egg unavailable to the State. Hawaii suffered much more painfully than other states because of the vast sum which was frozen and the fact that Hawaii was a late starter, in the Federal highway program. "We were just beginning to see daylight when this cutback hit us," said Sur. "We were just beginning to build up stream with our Federal highway program." The State its highway program gaining momentum Frustrated Oahu drivers may have to wait a few years longer for the uninterrupted 27-mile freeway from Waialae to Barber's Point. I The Johnson Administration's slash of road-building funds struck down the timetable of Federal interstate route H-l just as construction -was rolling into high gear.

State officials, forced to completely revise Hawaii's highway program, have now determined which projects can go forward and which will have to be deferred. IThe "missing link" in H-l freeway from Pele to Keeaumoku Streets through downtown Honolulu has been given priority status; said John R. K. Sur, deputy director of transportation. Deferred projects 3ut five projects, originally scheduled for construction in fiscal 1967, tentatively have been deferred.

They are: 1 21st Avenue to Ainakoa Avenue, the eastern end of the Interstate H-l spanning Oahu's south shore. 2 Waikele to Waiawa, a 1.5-mile segment of H-l located in Leeward Oahu. 3 Waiawa to Waiau, unit a Llrmile section of H-l, also in Leeward Oahu. 4 Waiawa to Kipapa, unit one, a 2.7-mile stretch of interstate H-2 which will eventually extend from Waiawa toSchofield. 5 Waiawa Interchange, unit one, a massive interchange which will link H-l and H-2 freeways as well as Farrington and Kamehame-ha Highways.

Urban traffic State highway officials think it is imperative that the Pele to Victoria to -Keeaumoku projects go on as scheduled to permit uninterrupted H-l freeway traffic through urban Honolulu. One other, job has been given the green light for construction in the coming fiscal year the Waikele Stream bridge' project behind Waipa-hu. Holiday sales very brisk here these cutbacks at least until the first quarter.of 1968. Nevertheless, the. highway program will, continue as scheduled on the drawing board." Preparation "We consider it absolutely essential to maintain the current program in terms of acquisition of rights-of-way and design, so that we'll be ready to go," Sur said.

Sur thinks the Highways Division must "stay loose" and be in a position to move ahead with construction just as soon as the money is reinstated. "These ceilings could be lifted just as suddenly as they were imposed on us," he said. Many considerations went into the determination of priority, Sur said, including the stage of a project, traffic congestion and safety, ability to finance the job and status of work forces. (The General Contractors' Association has said that $12-million, or 60 percent, of all available heavy equipment is now idle because of the slowdown in highway construction. (The contractors said they purchased or leased some $8 million worth of heavy construction equipment in anticipation of job awards.

Bids advertised All of the interstate H-l projects now under construction are scheduled for completion this year. They are: Kapiolani Interchange, September; Koko Head -21s Avenue, December; and Ku-nia-Waikele, October. The State advertised for bids on the Pele to Victoria stretch of H-l through downtown Honolulu this week. Bids on the Victoria to Keeaumoku. portion will be advertised in May.

The first portion is a Sales soared considerably above the mark for an average Wednesday at all stores, and in most cases the sales compared favorably with those on February 22, 1966. For instance, the management of GEM, which promoted "The Big Ax" sale, reported at the close, of an 11-hour business day that sales volume in the Ala Moana and a a 1 a a stores Many Honolulans spent part of their holiday shopping yesterday. Merchants had special sales pushed them with increased advertising and gimmick promotion: The holiday was "Hatchet Day" -downtown, while at Ala Moana Center and elsewhere it was "Dollar Day" or plain "George Washington's Birthday combined was up 13 percent over February 22, 1966. This was 68 percent above average Wednesday volume. The number of customers, over 17,000 in 11 hours, was about the same as last February 22, about typical for a holiday but below the traffic on a good Saturday.

Before the figures were in, some managements reported as follows: Andrade Ac i appeared as good as last year. Customers responded to promotion of a limited amount of reduced-priced merchandise. Liberty House Sales were good, particularly downtown. Store managers were pleased with the traffic. The new Ala Moana Center store conducted its first "George Washington Birth-day Sale" while the' down town store observed "Hatch- Mark Young Traffic was steady and sales appeared to be double those of last year.

Mclnerny It appeared to be a pretty fair day. Traffic at least was excellent, particularly in Ala Moana Center. Comparison was not available. Sears Roebuck Traffic was heavy all day, about twice the normal Wednesday flow, and business appeared better than last February 22. Increased advertising of special merchandise pulled in the customers.

The sale had no special name. Wigwam Response to newspaper and TV advertising of "In-Store Warehouse Sale" looked very good at Kailua, Kalihi and Moiliili stores, but comparison with last year was unavailable. (Yat Loy From the looks of the crowd, sales went very well, better than last State's January tax collection up 14.4 PWMWt-iWS! ownership went into effect last January 1. The conveyance tax on real property transactions in January valued at $9.5 million amounted to $4,779. The tax rate is one-half "mill per dollar of the full The State Government collected a total of $22.4 million in taxes last month.

This was an increase of 14.4 percent over the $19.6 million collected in January 1966., The State now has in jts general fund $115.4 million, representing collections for the first seven months of the current fiscal year. The State's new tax on all transfers of real property Comparison not yet price involved in the transfer et Day 23, 1967 C-l Thursday, Feb, available. of ownership. i niiwinrinnrTTiTii" nmMWAWMi' straw bags take center stage! MINGS Gemstone Necklaces Colorful strands of Amethyst, Camelian, Aventurine Blue Tiger Eye, Rose Quartz, and Aragonite so cool so casuaL so smart, so sturdy so right now into summer Y. C.

Yang Y. C.Yang, Korean envoy, Here Dr. You Chan Yang, South Korea's ambassador-at-large Beautiful trim details in hand-stained genuine leather. Dozens of styles and sizes in our collection, from and former Honolulu physician, arrived from the West Coast yesterday for a brief visit here. The ambassador spent 28 years, in the Islands but 12 years ago gave up his medical practice here to help out his old friend, the late Syng-man Rhee, former South Korea President.

Dr. Yang also had served as South Korea's ambassador to the United States. He is staying with relatives here. FREE INITIALING IN GOLD The JPochetbooh Man luggage, leather goods and gifts PHASE II Ala Moana Center, on the Mall The iron Curtain isn't soundproof. And so the truth is broadcast, through the air.

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