Growing up on Kamoa Road in the heart of Waipouli Town where my mom still lives, memories of my childhood home are just as vibrant and warm today as ever. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about
Growing up on Kamoa Road in the heart of Waipouli Town where my mom still lives, memories of my childhood home are just as vibrant and warm today as ever. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about crabbing off Waimea Landing and, of course, eating at Mrs. Ikehara’s Waipouli Restaurant or Hamura’s Saimin.
Another memory, though not as fond, is the gridlock in the Kaua‘i highway system. From Kapa‘a to Kekaha and particularly in the resident- and tourist-heavy towns surrounding Lihu‘e, drivers waste too much time by battling poorly paved and narrow roads.
Our time seems to be far more precious now than ever. So, when time is wasted sitting in traffic congestion, it only means we have far less time to spend with our family and friends. That is a quality-of-life issue that is unacceptable.
However, great strides are being made to relieve this problem. The leadership of Gov. Linda Lingle and the late Kaua‘i Mayor Bryan Baptiste exhibited the Republican values of family and fiscal responsibility to find real solutions for these traffic concerns.
Three major projects show a step in the right direction for Kaua‘i roadways: the widening of Kaumuali‘i Highway, which will start early next year; the widening of Kuhio Highway, which will open for bidding this fall; and the retrofitting of the Wailua River Bridge, which broke ground on June 23. This project, named after Mayor Baptiste, will help relieve the bottleneck experienced by approximately 43 percent of Kaua‘i residents and nearly half of the island’s visitors who regularly travel between Lihu‘e and Kapa‘a.
Hoping to address the concerns of Kaua‘i families and improve quality of life quickly and effectively, the governor and mayor worked tirelessly to get these projects approved in unprecedented time. Typically, the EIS studies required for these road improvements would average 63 months. But, with two dedicated leaders who recognized the importance of safe and effective travel, projects like the Bryan J. Baptiste Memorial Bridge went from proposal to groundbreaking in just 48 months.
Traditional partisan-dominated wrangling by the state Legislature was avoided and Kaua‘i residents and visitors were given much-needed alleviation to their traffic headaches without the ridiculous political delays.
As a bonus, these projects will invigorate Kaua‘i’s economy by engaging local entrepreneurs at a pivotal time when uncontrolled government spending and dismal economic downturn has hurt small business owners. Winning bids for these highway projects helps economically strapped local construction companies who have seen a huge decline in private sector projects looking for their services.
One such company, spearheading the Wailua River Bridge expansion project, is Kaua‘i-based Unlimited Builders LLC. Engaging Kaua‘i businesses in the improvement of their roads fosters a sense of community involvement and provides needed work for these small companies who are so vital to our economy.
We still have a long way to go. But, the leadership shown by Mayor Baptiste, whom I knew as Uncle Bryan, is a legacy to the quality of life of Kaua‘i families. It is fitting that one of the most significant projects will be named for this outstanding leader. He would have been proud to see that these aging bridges built in the 1920s will continue to serve the people of Kaua‘i for many more decades.
As a man of faith, I believe Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. will continue to be a beacon of light for our beautiful Garden Isle, carrying on the work of Uncle Bryan. God bless Kaua‘i.
• Jonah-Kuhio Ka‘auwai is the chair of the Hawai‘i Republican Party. His regular column, written exclusively for The Garden Island, tackles the critical issues facing the state.
