North Shore residents on Wednesday got a first-hand look at detailed options state Department of Transportation officials are considering for a permanent bypass road in Kapa‘a to significantly ease traffic jams in East Kaua‘i. At an informational meeting at the
North Shore residents on Wednesday got a first-hand look at detailed options state Department of Transportation officials are considering for a permanent bypass road in Kapa‘a to significantly ease traffic jams in East Kaua‘i.
At an informational meeting at the Church of the Pacific at Princeville, 50 residents were told most of the options would be confined to the coastal regions of East Kaua‘i.
The options include building another road and bridge mauka of the existing Wailua Bridge, increasing the number of lanes on the bridge, or not doing anything, said Felicia Cowden, president of the Kauai North Shore Business Council.
North Shore leaders invited DOT officials and their consultants to provide more details about the options. The Kauai North Shore Business Council members work to foster things in the best interest of the North Shore.
The meeting provided details that many North Shore residents had probably heard for the first time, Cowden said. “None of us had seen the options before,” she said.
The project is located on the other side of the island, but its impact has importance to North Shore residents, Cowden said.
“Most North Shore residents make it to the east side of the island at least once a week, and they are affected by this bypass issue,” Cowden said in an interview with The Garden Island.
The North Shore communities of Kilauea, Kalihiwai, ‘Anini, Princeville, Hanalei, Wai‘oli, Waipa, Wainiha and Ha‘ena are home to 6,348 people, according to 2000 U.S. Census figures.
Providing data at the meeting were people who are key players in the drafting of plans: Steve Kyono, who heads the DOT Highways Division on Kaua‘i; Herb Lee, a subcontractor with Kimura International, a consulting firm on O‘ahu; and Glenn Kimura, president of Kimura International.
The company also is a consultant for portions of a pedestrian-bicycle pathway Kaua‘i County officials have envisioned along the coastline from Nawiliwili Harbor to Anahola, a span of more than 17 miles.
Some of the Kapa‘a traffic relief options include:
- No building of any new roads or bridges across the Wailua River;
- Making the best use of the existing public transportation system;
- Widening the entire length of Kuhio Highway in Kapa‘a and Wailua;
- Constructing a second bridge across the Wailua River, involving segments in Lihu‘e, Wailua and Kapa‘a;
- Two “bell curves” around the Kauai Community Correctional Center in Wailua and along the temporary bypass road that runs mauka of Kapa‘a town now;
- Widening the existing state highway from the area by Wailua Golf Course and the jail to the river;
- Widening the state highway through a Lihu‘e segment of a route plan.
Kyono said the options are very preliminary in nature at this time. “We are in the draft and environmental impact stage, so no final alignment has been decided yet,” he said before the Wednesday night meeting.
State DOT Director Rodney Haraga will announce his preference through a “record of decision” after a final public hearing is held and work on an environmental impact statement is nearly completed, Kyono said.
A Haraga decision on the alignment could be made during the spring or summer months of 2005, Kyono said.
Cowden said some people attending the meeting voiced major concerns the Wailua Bridge could be rendered impassable by huge waves generated during tsunamis or hurricanes.
“The evacuation route is only at the Wailua Bridge, and 62 percent of the island population and a majority of visitors are north of that bridge,” Cowden said. “In an emergency, that bridge would become a serious bottleneck.”
Cowden also said that while some people may support the idea for a new, permanent bypass road, others talked about making better use of the public transportation system, including improving the county’s public bus system.
Also attending the meeting was Kaua‘i County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura.
She has advocated state and county officials, business folks, organizations and residents join forces to find ways to ease the traffic crunch faced daily by residents in East Kaua‘i.
Yukimura also has asked state and county officials to flesh out an integrated transportation system to ease traffic congestion across the island.
Michael Loo, an executive with the Princeville Corp. and secretary for the Kauai North Shore Business Council, and Ralph Leaman, a Princeville resident, were instrumental in setting up the meeting with the DOT and consultants.
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.
