LAHAINA >> Decades of exposure to salt air and crashing waves have taken their toll on two seawalls and scenic walkways in Lahaina town that have served as a backdrop for countless photos.

The Maui County Department of Public Works says the damage has progressed “beyond the minor repair stage” and that the two sites are in need of an estimated $4 million in improvements to ensure their structural integrity and pedestrian safety, and to protect the vital Front Street thoroughfare, which runs through the heart of the historic town.

Much of the project involves repair or replacement of features that were installed more than 40 years ago.

The seaside town’s colorful past as the former royal capital of Hawaii, a stopover for 19th-century whalers and base for West Maui sugar plantations earned it national, state and county recognition as a significant historic district. It is now one of the most visited tourist spots in the islands, and the two sites in need of work are surrounded by shops, restaurants and other businesses.

The first of two project areas covers a 715-foot-long seawall that has been in existence since the early 1900s and a sidewalk that runs along Front Street from Dickenson Street to Lahai­naluna Road.

According to a final environmental assessment submitted to the state in April 2021, the punch list of improvements includes reconstructing a deteriorated portion of a concrete wave deflector; replacing wooden railings installed in 1979 with a wood and powder-coated stainless-steel railing system; reconstructing the upper portion of the deteriorated sidewalk surface; removing and replacing raised concrete and stone masonry planters with at-grade plantings; removing wooden bollards; and replacing light fixtures, trash receptacles and bicycle racks.

Concrete stairs at the north end of the walkway that provide public access to the shoreline, also installed in 1979, would be replaced due to spalling and rebar corrosion.

The second project area encompasses a 730-foot-long seawall from Papalaua to Baker streets that rises about 2 feet above the sidewalk and is 3 feet wide with a flat concrete top. The seawall is fronted by stacked boulders, and over time wave action has dislodged some of the boulders and created gaps along the wall, according to the environmental assessment.

The county is proposing to replace the boulders to help protect the Front Street roadway and infrastructure and nearby businesses and homes.

The Department of Public Works told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the project is “in an environmentally sensitive area along the shoreline and within a historic district. Permitting, public outreach, and design development began over 3 years ago. The project has completed various studies and community engagement to ensure the repairs will not affect the cultural, environmental, or historical aspects of Front Street.”

That process included consultation this year with the county Cultural Resources Commission to improve streetscape design elements, the agency said.

Lahaina Restoration Foundation Executive Director Theo Morrison said there is widespread support among community members and businesses for the improvements.

“Right now the condition is just so poor because the ocean’s been eroding it away, and those horrible benches and all that stuff — anything will be a definite improvement over what it is now,” she said.

The project is before the Maui Planning Commission for approval of a special management area use permit and shoreline setback variance. The commission has scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 22.

Pending approvals and the contract bid process, the Public Works Department said construction is expected to begin sometime in 2024 and will take 12 months to complete.

Since the proposed improvements to both seawalls “are repair and maintenance in nature,” the 2021 assessment prepared by consultant Munekiyo Hiraga anticipates no significant long-term adverse impacts.

“The existing seawalls have been in existence for decades, so the natural environment has adapted to their presence. Changing the seawalls, such as constructing the revetment in Area 2 or allowing the walls to fall into disrepair, would likely be more disruptive than the proposed repair work as that would change the existing condition and potentially alter the existing distribution of wave energy,” the assessment said.

A secondary impact of the improvements, according to the document, is that it would “support economic activity in the area by revitalizing the walkway sidewalk and streetscape facilities, allowing Front Street to continue to be an attractive destination to eat and shop.”

Morrison said many in Lahaina will be glad to see the removal of the large planters with built-in seating in favor of shorter, free- standing benches with no backs. “They were being used the wrong way,” she said. “We want them to be benches for pedestrians to sit on but not to spend the night.

“The big planters and trees came with the Front Street improvement project in 1979. If you go back and look at the historical photos, that’s not what was previously there — we all just got used to it. So if we get rid of all that, it’s going to open it up so much more visually from both sides of the street,” Morrison said. “One of the biggest problems with these benches was the police could not see what was happening there. We want full transparency. That’s going to be a big improvement.”

Once the planters are gone, the county plans to replace the overgrown kou trees with native, salt- tolerant shade trees planted at grade level.

Other changes were made for consistency with other sites in town and to reflect Lahaina’s historic and cultural heritage, officials said. For example, Morrison said her organization insisted that real wood instead of composite material be used as the top railing along the walkway.

“This is a historic district, and you don’t have things that are fake,” she explained. “Wood is so much nicer.”

Jerry Kunitomo, owner of Lahaina Pizza Co., on Front Street directly across from the scenic walkway, credited the county for including business and community interests in the planning and design process.

“By pulling in the Lahaina Restoration Foundation and others, a lot of the historic elements will be incorporated in the design this time around, and it will be a lot more expedient for traffic and parking and still retain the historical feel that’s really critical to keeping Lahaina not only as a visitor hub but as a cultural hub, with Moku‘ula (former home to high-ranking alii and later the residence of King Kamehameha III) and all of the cultural significance here,” said Kunitomo, who opened his restaurant in 1994.

The assessment acknowledges that construction activities will disrupt traffic on Front Street, with the makai lane to be closed for equipment and workers, necessitating one-way traffic, contra-flow, detours, rerouting of public buses or other temporary measures to be determined after additional consultation with residents and businesses.