A long-planned project to make Waimea a safer town for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians has taken a major step toward fruition.
An environmental assessment with a finding of no significant impact for the Waimea Roadway Improvements project was released Thursday by the state Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.
The proposed project would include safety and operations improvements to existing roadways within the town of Waimea, including construction of a roundabout at the Kawaihae Road and Lindsey Road intersection; roadway improvements along Kawaihae Road between Lindsey Road and Opelo Road, plus bicycle and pedestrian treatments along both sides of the Kawaihae Road to Opelo Road; intersection improvements at Mamalahoa Highway and Lindsey Road; and bicycle and pedestrian treatments along Mamalahoa Highway between Waimea School and Pukalani Road.
State Rep. David Tarnas of Waimea said $9.6 million was appropriated for construction of the project during the 2023 legislative session. Tarnas has long been involved with the project, both as a lawmaker and at his former position as a planner with SSFM International, the Hilo-based consulting firm that prepared the 697-page EA document.
“It’s part of a larger project that we had been working on which is called the Kawaihae Road bypass,” Tarnas said. “And that project included a bypass as well as improvements along Kawaihae Road. It was too expensive, so we decoupled those projects and focused instead on the priority project.”
Tarnas said construction of the roundabout at the corner of Kawaihae Road and Lindsey Road is the centerpiece of the project.
A five-year traffic study was done between 2012-2016, which, according to the EA, was the latest data available from the state Department of Transportation. That study found there were 60 traffic collisions in the project area, none fatal but 34 with injuries. Seven of those collisions were at the intersection of Lindsey Road and Kawaihae Road.
“There’s a real need to improve it, and a roundabout is a great way to handle that multiconnection into an intersection that’s not just a plain four-way,” he said. “This roundabout is going to be so much safer, so much better, because it’s a very difficult intersection right there. It’s a strange little dogleg onto Kawaihae Road from Lindsey Road. It’s kind of a strange connection from Mamalahoa Highway to Kawaihae Road, because you have to go along Lindsey Road … to connect to Kawaihae Road, which is right next to Parker School. It’s a weird intersection.
“Parker School’s parking lot and the parking lot for the restaurant, FORC Restaurant, next door make it more complicated. Then on Saturdays, there’s a big market at Parker School, and that parking lot is very busy. All week, it’s busy bringing kids to and from school. Turning left into that parking lot is dangerous. But it’s done all the time. Then on Saturday, lots of people.”
Currently, there are no sidewalks along Kawaihae Road, forcing pedestrians and bicyclists to contend with vehicles and heavy trucks. According to the EA document, crossing the roadway has little by way of respites or safety zones. All that discourages either walking or bicycling, even for short distances within town.
The bike-share program operated by PATH and supported by the county is now in Hilo and Kailua-Kona, but has deferred going into Waimea town until safer roadways are in place.
Tarnas said the bicycle and pedestrian paths planned for both sides of Kawaihae Road between Lindsey Road and Opelo Road, as well as on Mamalahoa Highway between Lindsey Road and Waimea School, will change the dynamic for pedestrians and bicyclists.
“Think of all those kids going to school from the neighborhoods and all the people going into town to shop or to the post office — they will be able to either bicycle or walk more safely on both sides of Kawaihae Road from Opelo Road all the way into town,” Tarnas said.
There are portions of properties that the state will need to acquire to make the improvements, as planned. Property owners include the county and state, Parker School, Parker Ranch, Roman Catholic Church and Kanilehua Traders LLC.
The EA document is available online at bit.ly/44S6APb.
The Tribune-Herald reached out to the state Department of Transportation, which didn’t respond in time for this story.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-heralde.com.