Please, please, bring back the Kapa’a bypass

I’m crossing my fingers. And I’m not alone.

Every frustrated driver who has

inched through bumper-to-bumper traffic from Kapa’a to Wailua (at least, since

Oct. 14, when the Kapa’a bypass closed for the last harvest of adjacent

canefields) is doing the same thing.

It doesn’t matter whether you actually

used Kapaa’s alternate traffic route or not.

If you’ve been out our way

lately, you’ve got your fingers crossed too.

I’ve used the bypass on my way

to and from work ever since it first opened. My car automatically makes the

turn, no matter which direction I’m coming from, the same way it’s learned to

stick to the right contra-flow lane every morning,

Using the Kapa’a bypass

has become such a routine that even though it’s been closed for three weeks, I

still find myself swerving to the right some mornings when I pass. I can’t help

it. Old habits are hard to break. Besides, I miss the scenic serenity of that

two-point-something-mile stretch of highway.

I know, I know. For every one

of us eastside drivers grumbling about “our” bypass being closed, there are

dozens on the other side of the island wishing they could tell us

face-to-face, “You think you’ve got problems? Try our traffic.”

Traffic is

a problem here. Everyone knows it. No one likes it. The condition of our roads

doesn’t help either. It’s bad enough being stuck in traffic. Having your brains

rattled by patches and potholes when you are moving makes it harder to keep

your cool.

I admit I might have been more tolerant about this temporary

closure except for the timing.

My husband and I had just spent one lovely

week on the Big Island, where driving around was a sheer pleasure. It didn’t

matter whether we were on our motorcycle or in our rented Daewoo. Most roads

were in great shape, even in some relatively remote areas. It was a stark

contrast to what we had left back home.

It must have something to do with

the size of their tax base. After all, recent figures put the Big Isle’s

population at close to 145,000, a heckuva lot more potential taxpayers than the

55,000+ people statistics say we have on Kaua’i. When resources are limited,

it’s always hard to cover needs.

Still, highways must be a real priority on

the Big Island. Its 1,300 miles of paved roads are in excellent condition, even

though they are spread out over 4,028 square miles, twice the combined area of

all the other islands put together. Maintaining those roadways has to be a

fiscal and logistical nightmare. (Look at how hard it is for us to keep up with

our 450 miles even though they’re on just 552.3 square miles.)

We

reluctantly bid goodbye to the Big Isle and its smooth, open roads and came

home to harsh reality on Oct. 14, the day they shut the bypass down. Before we

had even finished reading the CLOSED sign, we started passing car after

backed-up car stretching nearly to Kealia.

That was the start of a constant

struggle to get anywhere. Every day became a challenge. Different strategies

didn’t help. It didn’t matter whether I turned right from Olohena onto Kuhio at

the ABC traffic signal or left at Kapa’a First Hawaiian Church, and right onto

Kuhio. Nothing worked.

So here we are. We did get to use our bypass

briefly on Saturday, apparently, Ron Wiley tells us, because of the Herculean

efforts of those who worked from 2 a.m. to get the bypass road into drivable

condition before the parade started. Ron also tell us it will be closed for a

few more days as plantation workers wrap up their work but could re-open as

early as Tuesday.

The opening will be a welcome relief for driverseven

though it brings sadness for those of us who know it means the end of an era.

It will also raise some scary questions: What then? What does the future hold

for “our” bypass?

The past three weeks have proven that skeptics were wrong

about the effectiveness of the Kapaa bypass, just as they were about the DOT’s

contra-flow plan. You don’t have to be a transportation engineer to assess the

positive impact it has made in just a few short years. I hope there’s a

contingency plan after our deal with the plantation comes to an end.

I’m

sure someone somewhere is working hard on our behalf. They probably would

appreciate all the support they can get.

On my way to work the other day, I

had a brief chat with one of my favorite candidates. Although it was still

fairly early, he was already packing up his signs.

“Traffic’s getting bad,

gotta get going,” he explained as I inched past him.

“What are YOU going to

do about it?” I asked. The last thing I heard was his friendly

chuckle.

Actually, I wasn’t joking. I’m well aware there’s only so much

that can be done about the traffic issue at a county level. But the people we

ultimately vote into office have a much better chance of getting answers to the

critical questions and making sure they’re the right ones.

In two days,

we’ll know which of those sign-holding, smile-flashing candidates we’ve waved

at along the highway makes it into office. Let’s hope those who do remember the

frustration they’ve seen on the faces of their passing constituents and work on

doing something about it.

We’re all so tired of singing the “Kuhio Highway

Blues.”

TGI staffer Rita De Silva can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 241 or

rdesilva@pulitzer.net.