DOT unveils $4 million albizia-removal plan, studies traffic fixes at Kilauea entrance

The Kauai district engineer, Ray McCormick, and state DOT engineer Donald Smith told the Kilauea Neighborhood Association that crews will remove roughly 2,500 large albizia trees east of the Kalihiwai bridge to reduce hazards and replant the slopes with less invasive species. The project will be performed under contract by Maui Cutters and Earth Works and is projected to take about 18 months: nine months for clearing and another nine months for replanting, at an estimated cost of $4 million.

McCormick and Smith also outlined a traffic-calming study for the Kuhio Highway entrance to Kilauea, saying roughly 18,000 vehicles pass the area daily and traffic is increasing at about 2% per year. Options under consideration include turn lanes, speed-limit adjustments, a programmable traffic signal, or a roundabout; Smith cautioned that temporary measures have limits, saying, "All solutions work when there is no traffic and no solutions work well when the roads are filled to capacity." Residents asked about night work, contractor staging, and expected delays (DOT said delays could be 15 to 45 minutes and that cutting at night is not feasible because of safety and potential impacts to endangered shearwater birds).