Newsflash…Maalaea Harbor! Starting this week…the Lana’i/Maalaea Ferry building is shut down until approximately January 2016. They are expanding the end of the harbor to accommodate 4 more slips for the ferry boats running between Maalaea and Lana’i.
In May of last year, the Public Utilities Commission approved Expeditions’ request for the ferry to run between Maalaea and Lanai. Expeditions suspended this service back in 2008. Expeditions said that “the recent purchase of Lanai by Larry Ellison, and his proposed construction projects on Lanai, will increase the demand for charter service between Maalaea, Maui and Manele, Lanai.” We are very happy about this and I’m sure that the people and shop owners of Maalaea are as well.
The new $2.7 million ferry will accommodate 149 passengers. With all of the changes and building happening on Lanai, we need the extra ferry service.
According to Roz Baker, the $2.8 million project, which is 80% funded by the U.S. DOT, Federal Transit Administration, was awarded to Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company. These funds will be used to replace the badly deteriorated pier adjacent to the new $16 million Ferry Terminal building. When construction is completed in April 2016, it will provide a new pier for the Lanai Ferry and other vessels to load and unload passengers. The new pier will be durable (corrosion resistant) and will require minimal maintenance over its 25-year lifespan. The in-water work is scheduled to begin this month.
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