Hawaii will receive nearly $8 million in federal transportation and Native Hawaiian education grants, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye has announced.

The initiatives that will be funded are:

• H-1 at Kinau Street Off-Ramp, Honolulu, $3,531,528. The money will be used to continue the construction of a right-turn lane from the eastbound H-1 freeway off-ramp at Kinau Street to Lusitana Street to make entering the Queen's Medical Center easier.

• Federal Lands Program, $1,059,458. The funds will be used to construct a parking area within Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge on Maui, provide road improvements within the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on the Big Island, and secure road improvements that provide access to Kakahaia National Wildlife Refuge on Molokai.

• Kapolei Interchange Complex, $905,520. The project is for improvements from Mile Post 0.341 to Mile Post 1.116.

• School Maintenance and Repair, $1,228,163. The grant will go to the state Department of Education, which will partner with the nonprofit Hawaii 3R's organization, to address the public-school maintenance and repair backlog. Addressing the maintenance and repair backlog means addressing the crucial issues confronted by Native Hawaiian students. They and other students will be able to develop a sense of pride in their schools, and increase their desire to learn and achieve.

• Native Hawaiian Law, $1,228,163. The Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at the University of Hawaii's law school will receive this grant to establish a core curriculum in Native Hawaiian law, support teaching faculty, increase opportunities for students willing to work in Native Hawaiian law, create an archives for historic and legal materials that pertain to Native Hawaiians, and award two post-J.D. fellowships for scholarly research on Native Hawaiian law.