The Honolulu City and County announced Wednesday that crews are preparing to remove the iconic Haiku Stairs, also known as Stairway to Heaven, from the Koolau Mountains. 

What You Need To Know

  • In 2021, the Honolulu City Council voted to remove the stairs

  • Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi supported the removal of the stairs, citing safety concerns and neighborhood complaints

  • The contract to remove the stairs was awarded to The Nakoa Companies Inc. last year and is worth $2,579,771
  • With work on the removal project underway, the Honolulu City and County warned potential trespassers that the stairway is now an active work site and considered extremely dangerous

Crews will begin removing the nearly 4,000 stairs later this month, according to a news release. The $2.5 million project is expected to take six months to complete. 

The Honolulu City and County contracted The Nakoa Companies Inc. last year to remove the stairs. The project contractor started conducting preliminary assessments of the stair modules on Wednesday. 

With work on the removal project underway, the Honolulu City and County warned potential trespassers in its news release that the stairway is now an active work site and considered extremely dangerous.

The Navy originally built the stairs during World War II to ascend to a radio station. In 1987, the stairs were closed. As the stairs' popularity has grown, residents living in Haiku Valley started complaining about hikers trespassing through their properties to access the illegal hike. Dozens of hikers have also needed to be rescued from the hike over the past decade. However, Friends of Haiku Stairs, a group of volunteers, have advocated for managed access to the stairs. In 2021, the Honolulu City Council voted to remove the stairs. Along with neighborhood complaints, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi cited safety concerns as a major reason to remove the stairs. 

As part of the Haiku Stairs removal project, The Nakoa Companies Inc. will remove the narrow metal stair structure while preserving associated structures. The contract requires the company to take direction from a biologist, who will evaluate each section of the stairs prior to and following removal in order to protect native species and prevent erosion. Native flora will be planted when necessary. 

“This was a decision, when we came into office, that was long overdue. Over the course of many months, in meeting with the people involved and the discovery that we put into it, I can promise you that this was not a capricious decision,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said during a blessing ceremony on Wednesday. “This decision that was made was predicated upon our respect for the people who live in and around the entrance to the stairs, our respect for our ʻāina, and our respect for both the future and the past history of the culture of the Haiku community.”

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.

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