Board of Water Supply moves forward with plans to demolish Haiku Stairs

KANEOHE, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Honolulu Board of Water Supply is moving forward with plans to demolish one of Oahu's most sought-after hikes.

On Monday, the Board approved a $500,000 budget to study the demolition of Haiku Stairs, also known as the Stairway to Heaven.

This comes after severe weather caused extensive damage to part of the stairs, prompting the Board of Water Supply to conduct an overall assessment of the trail, and to either demolish the stairs or pass on control to another government agency.

Ernest Lau, Manager and Chief Engineer at the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, says BWS is in charge of security at the bottom of the trail, but maintaining the stairs is not part of their mission.

At Monday's board meeting, both the DLNR and the National Park Service declined to assume management of Haiku Stairs.

The trail was originally constructed in 1941 for the U.S. Coast Guard, and allowed access to the LORAN radio antenna at the top of the mountain.

The stairs eventually became extremely worn and dangerous, and the state closed the trail to the public in 1987.

If no other government agencies come forward, the 3,922-step stairway could be demolished in about a year.

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