SUBTLE START: Crews survey site of future Pahoa roundabout

The state Department of Transportation’s $4.8 million roundabout project in Pahoa was off to a subtle start Monday, with the DOT and Isemoto Contracting on hand to survey the site.

Construction crews have not yet begun work, district engineer Julann Sonomura said.

The project is expected to last nine months, and will replace the intersection of Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road with a three-exit roundabout. Construction of the roundabout itself will not begin until a detour — moving cars through the intersection of Kahakai Boulevard and Pahoa Village Road via a temporary traffic signal — is complete.

The detour is expected to take about six weeks to complete.

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.