Kaumalapau Deep Draft Harbor (DDH) is located on the southwestern coast of Lana’i. The Kaumalapau DDH project was completed to repair the existing non-Federal breakwater that was originally built in the 1920’s. Significant damage to the existing breakwater was caused by repeated storm events in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. The Kaumalapau DDH was officially transferred from the Lanai Company to the State of Hawai’i Department of Transportation Harbors Division in July 2000. The project is in the operations and maintenance phase.
The total project cost was $28,200,000 (Federal: $22,600,000; non-Federal: $5,600,000). The on-site work on the breakwater was initiated in mid-February 2006 and was completed June 2007 by Traylor Brothers, Inc. The completed breakwater is 320 feet long with a crest elevation of +14.5 feet above mean lower low water. The construction involved the placement of 819 core-loc units (35 tons each) and, as a result, constituted a unique engineering and construction challenge. Under a separate contract, a project to construct and install a new rock wall and project sign was awarded to RMA Land Construction, Inc. on 10, September 2008 in the amount of $160,340. The completion of the wall and plaque was accepted on 23, January 2009.
Kaumalapau is the main commercial seaport for Lana’i. The original harbor breakwater was built in the 1920s by James Dole, the founder of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the Federal breakwater.