An idea born of frustration among North Shore residents tired of dealing with monumental traffic backups has taken a big step toward reality.

The proposed solution — to move Kamehameha Highway mauka in the vicinity of Laniakea Beach or at least create a bypass — still faces a long approval process. Even if the project is OK'd, the earliest projected completion date for the work is 2014.

But the proposal recently won a nod of approval from the O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, the body responsible for coordinating transportation planning on O'ahu. That makes the proposal eligible for federal money.

Next will come a required environmental assessment in 2008.

The proposal is the result of two years of planning and meetings involving residents and state and city officials to address gridlock that has gone from a seasonal, big-wave phenomenon to a daily occurrence that affects everything from the quality of life to commerce on the North Shore.

Today, the North Shore is a year-round destination, and an estimated 2 million tourists drive through the area in search of its turtles and world-famous waves. The number of cars has overwhelmed the scenic two-lane blacktop.

Laniakea is not the only chokepoint, but it is the worst, with daily backups there common. And on weekends, traffic stalls for one to two miles in both directions, said Gil Riviere, who heads the North Shore Neighborhood Board Traffic and Transportation Committee.

"Basically in the last four years you've seen the road grind to a halt," Riviere said.

Laniakea Beach is one of the first open spaces along the highway traveling out of Hale'iwa that offers motorists spectacular views of surf and sea. It's also a popular feeding ground for turtles that come up to the rocky shoreline to nibble on seaweed growing on boulders.

Parking is on the mauka side of the road, forcing visitors to dart across the highway. It's not unusual to see drivers backing in and out of traffic.

Realignment would mean parking could be moved to the makai side of the road, improving safety, and a bypass would get visitors off the busy highway altogether.

LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT

Legislators support the proposal. Sen. Robert Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa), has requested $1.2 million in the state budget to match the federal money anticipated for the study. He estimated the 1.1-mile realignment could cost several million dollars.

Bunda said he was ecstatic about OMPO's endorsement but added the challenge is to win the support of the state Department of Transportation, which will make the final decision on the project.

The charm of the area is its rustic quality, but the road is old, and the fact that more than 2 million visitors a year use it should convince the DOT that this safety measure is necessary, he said.

"Anybody who's visited or been out there knows that this is a place where an accident is waiting to happen," Bunda said. "A major fatality is in the making out there."

The DOT has been reluctant to endorse the project, citing the high cost, complexity and length, according to project supporters.

But now DOT is discussing it with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and landowner Kamehameha Schools, said Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman. The first thing that's needed is an environmental study that will determine the scope of the project and how much land is needed, Ishikawa said.

"The environmental report is really what's going to dictate the schedule," he said. "That's going to dictate the whole timetable on (this) if and when this happens."

Kamehameha Schools has been involved in discussions about the project, but no definite plan has been proposed, said Kekoa Paulsen, Kamehameha Schools spokesman. The city owns the land next to the highway, but the school owns the property farther inland that would be needed for a realignment or bypass.

"We haven't been a driver in the (discussions) but we certainly are not opposed to the road being changed to make things safer out there," Paulsen said.

CITY, STATE HAVE STAKE

Both the city Department of Parks and Recreation and the DLNR Office of Conservation of Coastal Lands have a stake in moving the road.

In a memorandum to OMPO that details the proposal, Coastal Lands said it supports the effort to relocate the road because a project could address several problems there, including chronic erosion, flooding and storm surge.

During a major coastal hazard, such as a tsunami, the road could become impassable, leaving residents without an escape route, according to the memorandum titled "OMPO Transportation Enhancement Program Kamehameha Highway Relocation Review and Summary Laniakea Beach, Kawailoa, Waialua District Oahu."

"The highway is regularly threatened by seasonal high surf, overtopping (water on the road) and warrants closure of part or all of the lanes on an annual basis," the memorandum said. "In addition, recent increases in vehicular and pedestrian traffic have created traffic congestion related to pedestrian traffic crossing the highway."

Coastal Lands couldn't estimate the cost of the project but requested $3.7 million annually through OMPO for the project's duration.

In 2004, the city Department of Parks and Recreation completed a draft environmental assessment for a Laniakea Beach support park that would include parking on the mauka side of the highway.

PROJECT ON HOLD

Lester Chang, parks director, said the project was shelved until the road is moved because having new facilities there would no doubt attract more people who would have to cross the highway for a better view.

"Exactly what we do with it hinges on the plans for the road," Chang said. "The realignment is the driving factor at this point."

During discussions about the project, Riviere said, it was estimated the soonest the project could be completed is seven years when environmental analysis, planning and construction are considered.

But that's not a long time, he said.

"I'm trying to beat the record of the Hale'iwa bypass," Riviere said. "It was proposed in 1962 and it was built in 1994, so it took 32 years to get that one through."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.