(BIVN) – A planned roundabout at the entrance of Waikoloa Village is examined in a newly published Draft Environmental Assessment, and the public comment period is now open.

The County of Hawaiʻi plans to construct the new roundabout at the Waikōloa Road and Paniolo Avenue / Pua Melia Street intersection, replacing the existing two-way stop.

Bowers + Kubota Consulting, Inc. prepared the Draft EA, which anticipates a Finding of No Significant Impact.

“The Proposed Action is intended to handle the increasing traffic flow and to improve the safety of persons traversing the intersection,” the March 8 issue of The Environmental Notice states. “The new roundabout would require the acquisition of contiguous lands that extend into limited portions of TMKs (3) 6-8-002: 051 and 053.”

map shows the current Waikoloa Road / Paniolo Avenue intersection from the Draft Environmental Assessment for the Waikoloa Rd./Paniolo Ave. Roundabout

According to a Hawaiʻi County news release:

Hard copies of the draft EA are available at two locations: the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works Office (Aupuni Center, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 7, Hilo, HI 96720) and the West Hawai‘i Civic Center (75- 5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Bldg. D, 1st Floor, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740).

If no substantive issues are identified during the comment period on the draft EA, DPW will adopt the EA as final, issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and fund the project. If substantive comments are received, DPW, alongside Bowers and Kubota, will evaluate and address those comments in a Final EA or as part of the FONSI documentation and may consider whether changes to the grant or project implementation are appropriate. The FONSI will be posted to the same websites as listed above. DPW will only publish another public notice for this project if a final EA is published.

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments on the draft EA by Monday, April 8, 2024. Comments should be mailed to: Bowers and Kubota Consulting, Inc. at 2153 N. King Street, Suite 200, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819. Comments may also be submitted via e-mail (preferred) to bkplanning_comments@bowersandkubota.com; please include “Waikoloa Road and Paniolo Avenue Roundabout” in your subject line.