2/19/26 – MAUNALUA BAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT CELEBRATES SUCCESS WITH A FINAL BLESSING

MAUNALUA BAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT CELEBRATES SUCCESS WITH A FINAL BLESSING

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HONOLULU - Community members and organizations who use the Maunalua Bay Boat Ramp gathered today to participate in a final blessing ceremony marking the completion of the Maunalua Bay Improvement Project.

The project began in July 2025, with work originally anticipated to be done in April 2026, but the dredging contractor, American Marine Corp., finished two months early and within the original contract price.

"The Hawaiʻi State Legislature provided $5 million in capital improvement funds and the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) added another $2.6 million from our own operating funds, because we understood the importance of the full project to boaters and paddlers," said DOBOR Administrator Meghan Statts. "They've waited a long time, and we wanted to be sure this community got what it needed. With these improvements, our local ʻohana will be able to enjoy both the facility and the newly restored sandy beach."

"This collaborative endeavor would not have been possible without the support of Governor Josh Green, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and all community stakeholders who were instrumental in providing input and support from project inception to project completion," she added.

Project accomplishments include:

• Restored safe boat access to the ocean through maintenance dredging of the entrance channel and boat ramp
• Reduced project costs by re-using dredged material to replenish the severely eroded shoreline on both sides of the boat ramp, rather than paying to haul the dredge materials to a dump site
• Expanded the public parking and canoe storage areas
• Replenished the beach on the Koko Head side of the boat ramp
• Completed much-needed sea wall repairs
• Installed structures to contain the reused dredge material and prevent future erosion.

DOBOR's research indicates that this is the only dredging of the Maunalua Bay channel that has been done since the late 1950s to early 1960s when Henry J. Kaiser completed the original dredging.

"This project has been a remarkable success and is a model for community and state collaboration," said DOBOR Lead Engineer Finn McCall. "We've made substantial facility enhancements that will benefit multiple users, including canoe paddlers, recreational and commercial fishermen, recreational boaters and beach goers for many years to come."

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RESOURCES
(All images/video courtesy DLNR, unless noted)

Video - Maunalua Bay Improvement Project blessing ceremony media clips, February 19, 2026 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bkjrklh8kz662510pt09a/Maunalua-Boat-Blessing-VNR.mp4?rlkey=z0k2bi1hrp30w97xqmjcxu4j7&st=7pe1gb3w&dl=0

Photographs - Maunalua Bay Improvement Project before, after, and blessing ceremony https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/urn6xq80yjw2e9y732tg1/AMwqZ3OogK4Hcgp1B_pPBsE?rlkey=n8ouq7fdlsf0a7fw7ug2e7ua7&st=m0zzvytr&dl=0

Media Contact:
Andrew Laurence
Communications Director
State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources
Phone: 808-587-0396
E-mail: [email protected]