KIHEI — A utility pole planted in the middle of a newly paved Kihei road has drivers doing double takes.

The pole used to stand out of the way on the shoulder of Auhana Road. But when the road was widened earlier this year, crews paved around it, and that's where it's stayed.
"It's been that way for a couple of months, maybe longer," said Realtor Jim Worley, who drives by the pole on his way to work.
Doyle Betsill of Betsill Bros. Construction said it's taken more coordination than usual to figure out what to do with the stray pole, but the company now has a plan and the pole should be moved out of the road within 60 days.
Even though it's taken some time, Betsill said he understood the need to move the pole soon.
"MECO and us and the telephone company — even though it's coned off — we're all concerned about the safety factor," he said.
Betsill Bros. widened the road as a condition of a special management area permit for its Kalama Heights Phase 2 project in the area, county officials said.
But the project plan did not specify where the pole should be relocated, Betsill said. While the normal procedure would be to extend the pole to the new far side of the road, that would have placed it in a drainage area in this case.
The builders' "plan B" was opposed by a neighbor who did not want to realign utility wires on his property, Betsill said.
"We've now come up with a plan to use what's called a push-pole as a temporary solution," he said.
The plan still needs county approval before the pole can be moved, Betsill added.