$1.4M Released to Design Waimea Roadway Improvements, Roundabout Near Parker School Moves Forward

The unsignalized intersection of Kawaihae and Lindsey Roads near Parker School recorded 60 traffic collisions between 2012 and 2016. That five-year toll drove years of community advocacy and, now, $1.4 million in state capital improvement funds released Thursday by Gov. Josh Green to begin engineering and design of the Waimea Roadway Improvements Project.

The centerpiece of the upgrade is a 125-foot-diameter roundabout at Kawaihae and Lindsey Roads, sized to accommodate WB-62 trucks with trailers, reflecting the corridor's dual role carrying large agricultural and commercial vehicles alongside school commuters. The roundabout format is expected to reduce conflict points, slow vehicle speeds, and create dedicated turning and refuge spaces where pedestrians currently cross without protection.

Rep. David Tarnas, the Waimea Democrat who helped secure $9.6 million in broader appropriations during the 2023 legislative session, called the release "a critical investment in public infrastructure—improving public facilities and services by reducing congestion in Waimea Town while expanding transportation options through the introduction of shared-use paths and bike lanes." Tarnas said the completed designs will anchor a follow-on request for construction funding in a future legislative cycle; the $1.4 million covers design work only.

The broader project along Māmalahoa Highway and surrounding collector streets in South Kohala also calls for median turning and refuge lanes, curbs and gutters, bike lanes, sidewalks, landscaped medians, and utility relocation. Those additions would give children walking to Parker School a protected route along an arterial that currently offers none, while also addressing congestion bottlenecks that slow emergency response times through the Waimea town corridor.

A 2024 environmental assessment returned a Finding of No Significant Impact, clearing the regulatory threshold that allowed this funding to move. The design phase will produce cost estimates, right-of-way determinations, mitigation plans, and construction timelines that any future appropriation would require. Community members will have input as engineering work proceeds, though no construction window can be set until designs are complete and additional funding is secured.

The 60-collision record and years of documented congestion built the political case for the project. What the designs ultimately reveal about full construction costs will determine how quickly the Kawaihae-Lindsey intersection actually changes.