$3.5M capital-improvement-project funds released for Kaua‘i

LIHU‘E — Over $3.5 million in state capital-improvement-project funds have been released for Kaua‘i.

The projects span from road safety and school improvements to design for the Ahukini landfill and new medical equipment.

Gov. David Ige earlier this week announced the release of more than $165 million in CIP funds across the islands.

Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waimea will receive $1.3 million for design and equipment for the purchase and installation of a new, upgraded computerized tomography (CT) scanner.

Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation Kaua‘i Regional Executive Officer Lance Segawa said this is just one moving part to advance the level of care on the island. A similar project is placing a CT scanner at Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital in Kapa‘a, which currently doesn’t have one.

“We’re creating a higher level of care across Kaua‘i,” Segawa said Thursday morning. “That’s the goal.”

Segawa said the project will go out to bid and the CT scanner should be in place within the next 10 to 12 months.

Ige also released $1.25 for guardrail and shoulder improvements on state highways, $400,000 for construction and renovation of the library at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, and $570,000 for additional designs for the Ahukini landfill restoration near Lihu‘e Airport.

Statewide, Ige also released $115.9 million for various projects, including $20 million toward public housing improvements; $270,000 for projects to bring the state into compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and pedestrian improvements; and $2 million for the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency to upgrade 400 warning sirens statewide that require new satellite modems.