Alawai Road in Waimea to close for culvert, road repairs

Portions of Alawai Road in Waimea will close completely from Wednesday, May 27 through Wednesday, June 10, cutting through-traffic during the workday while crews repair culverts and roadway within the county right of way. The closures are set for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting, a window that will hit morning commutes, school-day travel and daytime service calls in the neighborhood.

Kauai County is telling drivers to use alternate routes, allow extra time and stay out of the work zones where parking will be prohibited. Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic, which should keep local movement organized even as parts of the road are shut down. The county did not list a specific detour route in the notice, so motorists who regularly use Alawai Road should build in extra time and plan for stop-and-go conditions near the closure area. Residents with questions can call the Roads Division Main Office at 808-241-4847 or email koku@kauai.gov.

The repair work lands in a corridor shaped by drainage and flood-control concerns that have long defined West Kauai. The Waimea River Flood Control Project was built by the County in 1951 and later modified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1984. Corps records say the system was designed for a 100-year flood discharge of 64,000 cubic feet per second and includes interior drainage structures that the County of Kauai owns, operates and maintains.

Those concerns have stayed active. Kauai County and the Corps entered a cost-share partnership on June 24, 2024, for the Waimea River Flood Control Project Modification Study, and a public informational meeting followed on March 6, 2025, at the Waimea Neighborhood Center. A 2019 report noted that one drainage canal on Ala Wai Road sat near the old county baseyard, and the county’s FY24 annual report said new sluice gates and a pump station were installed near Ala Wai Road to repair and upgrade the Waimea River levee.

Taken together, the closure is not just a short-term inconvenience for Waimea drivers. It is part of a larger effort to keep the road and the drainage system working before the next heavy rain tests both.