Traffic on Kauai is the worst it has ever been. Let us know your ideas to improve the situation. A bypass road around Lihue is being considered.
Traffic on Kauai is the worst it has ever been. Let us know your ideas to improve the situation. A bypass road around Lihue is being considered.
As Kaua’i continues to “ Kick the can down the road”. Just keep spending money on “Studies”, but get nothing done. Very Sad!
If the county builds a two lane by-pass, as proposed, the emergency services (fire, police and ambulance) will still not have room room to get through a traffic jams. Emergency vehicles have to wait for drivers to be able to get out of the way. This is only important if one of a loved one is waiting for an ambulance or the fire truck is trying to get to your house to put out a fire. Has the county officials checked with emergency services for a recommendation? Also, when workers are maintaining the road side, one lane is usual completely blocked causing delays. If two lanes were needed 10 to 15 years ago, the county is solving yesterdays problem and not looking to the future. Vision is looking to solve problems in the future.
Aloha Rob+Jeff I was thinking of a bypass route that would go between by the college over the came roads through the mountains and come out at anahola. It would be a straight shot over to the west side and ease up the congestion before it starts at the north end of Kapaa. What do you think? When I was just there 2 wks ago, my girlfriends car overheated and lost power because she was stuck in that traffic for over an hour. Thank goodness she wasn’t driving me to the airport for a flight home, but I was returning my rental car. Fortunately God came through and we made it on time.
Hi Debra.
Thanks. Not sure we’ve heard of that before, although a circumnavigation road was talked about years ago and rejected. This seems like the most likely plan, and even then…
Aloha.
I lived in the South of France and they built tunnels and bridges a long time ago …when you drive from Nice to Monaco, you can choose to stay on the lower road (closest to the ocean, middle road (most popular) and the high road which has the most beautiful views, since it’s on top of the mountains. In addition, they have excellent bus service and a train that goes along the lower road.
Even one of the above would be great! I live on Maui and love the by-pass, hoping it will expand. I own a Tesla and I am very much into protecting the environment, but don’t think it’s done by limiting roads. Just get the SUV’s off island!
Is 10 years Hawaiian time the same as Mainland time? 😉 Kind of like Hawaiian 5ft surf is the same as 10ft Mainland surf. And that is actually True.
By-pass: just spend the money for studies and planning on straightening the existing bypass road and extending it to two lines each way past the roundabout. Create a new roundabout at Kiheo highway intersection.
Hi. Been coming to Kauai for 40 years & traffic has always been bad . Hope my grand kids will see the improvements 😂Aloha. Andy S
Don’t hold your breath! I’ve only been here on Kauai since 2016, and I have yet to see ANY “highway” improvements under any politicians in office. 1st, why is the main highway around (well, almost around) the island a Two Lane road? With over 70,000 population now and tourists returning after the pandemic, a complete overhaul of our roads is way overdue! Yes, the Kapaa crawl b.s. needs to be rerouted (with double lanes each way) to accomodate daily commuters and tourists alike. The western half of Kauai badly needs an updated highway as well for residents who must commute from the west side into Lihue, Kapaa, and Princeville daily to get to work. Why can’t we have 4- or 6-lane (each direction) highways like the H-1 & H-2 on Oahu?
Are you kidding?
No Thank You on the 4-6 lane each way Oahu mainland type highways. We live Kaua’i because we do not have that. This goes with ‘Pave Paradise and Put Up A Parking Lot’ which a lot of highways become – highways are built and the people come to clog them up. There’s a lot that can be done to make traffic flow better.
Having been raised in Hawaii, I sense a Mainland air about Beat of Hawaii !
You will soon learn, and this is very true for any change in Hawaii…. it doesn’t happen. The agent of change becomes a target of one or multiple groups that can never be completely satisfied with the proposed changes. And then the environmental groups step in an sue or contest the permits. In the end, nothing happens.
Why is traffic so bad on Kauhi? Because there is no commonality in what to do about it. And Hawaii continues to have a No Wiki Wiki attitude about any change. Aloha
Thank you Keoni for your honest and accurate explanation. I’ve heard, and am sure it’s true, that when the Hanalei bridge was replaced not too many years ago that HDOT wanted to put in a two-lane bridge so you didn’t have to wait to alternate traffic to cross the Hanalei river, but that there was no support from the local community to do so, and so they replaced the bridge with one that was just like the old one. Even though the local community is the most “inconvenienced” by it, they are the ones who most support it the way it is. I admit that I still sometimes say to myself “how can this possibly take This long?” – like finishing up the project in front of the Coco Palms!!! – but it’s just the reality of the way things are. 🙂
Thank goodness the Hanalei bridge is still one lane – that’s part of the charm, the magic of Kaua’i and Hanalei. Kick back, relax, enjoy life. No need rush. North Shore. Or no need go there if it’s an issue for someone.
Why not make it a toll road. If the road went north of Kaapa then the time saving would be enormous. If a toll was charged then potentially it could be a 4 lane highway, which would allow emergency vehicles a safe and fast route.
Based on the increased traffic and the length of time for construction, a two lane road would almost be obsolete before completion
That is what the Knudsen family proposed back in the 80’s.
Create a limit of tourists allowed working with airlines, hotels, resorts. Kauai purchased more rental cars much to the chagrin if a lot of locals, perhaps that was inviting more people in. If they can’t get a car, can’t go. I remember those days when it was difficult to rent a car. Traffic has been so bad for so long, I think a road is putting a bandaid on the core problem.