Paving work starts on Waikōloa Road next week

Work on the long-awaited $26 million Waikōloa Road Rehabilitation Project is a reason to celebrate for many people.

“I am so excited for when the road is done. I canʻt wait,” said Francis Madriaga, who travels it regularly from Waimea to her job as supervisor of the KTA Super Store in Waikōloa Village.

The project involves roadway reconstruction of about 11 miles of Waikōloa Road, from Māmalahoa Highway to Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, in West Hawai‘i.

The potholes that have been getting worse every year will be gone once the project is completed, which is expected to be in the third quarter of 2024.

The project also includes updating road signage, placement of new road striping and markings, bike lanes, adjustment of waterline manholes and meters, and placement of erosion control.

Waikōloa resident Michael Konowicz said the road started to get worse when the Hilo Landfill closed in 2019. Since then, heavy trucks have been hauling rubbish down Waikōloa Road to the West Hawai‘i Sanitary Landfill. 

And it is “putting stress on it that it wasn’t designed to handle,” he said.

Konowicz would like to see the county put in a Saddle Road extension to Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway because he anticipates heavy truck traffic to continue, including military convoys that use the road from the Pōhakuloa Training Area. Previously this was attempted, but failed due to financial constraints. 

“So with every passing year of heavy use, the condition becomes worse,” he said. “The population in Waikōloa continues to grow and is expected to explode in just the next few years.”

Konowicz and other residents also are not happy with the planned $5.8 million Waikōloa Roundabout Project, which is separate from the rehabilitation project. The county is concurrently working on this project at the intersection of Waikōloa Road and Paniolo Avenue, the main road through the village.

During an Action Committee meeting at the Waikōloa School Library on Monday regarding the South Kohala Community Development Plan, the committee voted to send a letter regarding a non-binding resolution that urged Hawai’i County to install a traffic light at the intersection and ditch the roundabout.

Earlier this year, both the Waikoloa Village Association and the Elima Lani AOAO each passed resolutions asking that Hawai’i County officials build a traffic light sooner rather than a roundabout later at the Waikoloa Road and Paniolo Avenue intersection.

As the committee continues to reach out about their desires, work continues on Waikōloa Road.

Contractor Goodfellow Brothers is working on the shoulders of the roadway in preparation for paving work that is planned for next week. So far, they have been excavating and grading the shoulders above Waikōloa Village from Highway 190 toward the village.

The project was planned by the county in 2019, with the state approving it in September 2020. The county obtained federal funding for construction in 2022.

They’ve also started preparatory work with the installation of advisory signs, message boards and erosion control.

The county said the current work is not affecting the current traffic pattern.

In the future, there will be shifting of lanes and intermittent one-lane closures during construction work hours, said Sherise Kanae’e-Kāne with the county Department of Public Works.

Motorists are asked to observe and respect the traffic control signs and regulations and exercise caution especially when traveling in the active construction areas.

*Editor’s note: Information was added to this story to ensure accuracy regarding community-led resolutions to the Hawai’i County Mayor’s Office to install a traffic light at the intersection of Waikoloa Road and Paniolo Avenue.