Waikōloa Second Road: Our Comment on the County CIP
On June 2, Wildfire Safety Advocates submitted a formal objection to Bill 136, the County's Capital Improvement Project budget for 2026-27. Our comment ran fourteen pages. The short version is this: there is NO money in the 2026-2027 County Budget for a Waikōloa second road.
Below is a summary of what we filed, followed by talking points you are welcome to borrow, and the email addresses to submit your own comments to get your words into the record.
You can read the full submission here.
What the CIP budget does
The budget puts $11 million toward streets, water lines, and sewer lines at the north end of the Village. That infrastructure is what allows the Kamakoa Nui affordable housing project to begin construction.
It puts nothing toward the second arterial road.
Meanwhile, the $2.5 million the Council appropriated in the prior budget for the design of the makai connection to Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway remains unspent.
Our objection is not about the housing.
The South Kohala Community Development Plan, adopted by County Council as an ordinance in 2008, calls the second access road the "top priority" for Waikōloa Village. It is the first Action Program in the plan. There is no Action Program for Kamakoa Nui. The CDP says plainly that a second access or egress road "may well prove to be the difference between successful evacuation of the Village and injuries and even loss of life."
Since that plan was written, the Village has grown from roughly 3,500 residents to more than 7,000. Na Hale Makoa, Kamakoa Nui, and Nana Kai together would add over 3,000 more, putting the community north of 10,000 people. All of them would still be sharing one dedicated road out.
We already know what that looks like. During the 2021 evacuation, residents passing the elementary school on Paniolo Drive sat in traffic for more than an hour before they reached Waikōloa Road.
We raised two legal problems with funding the housing infrastructure first:
County Charter section 10-6(a)(2) requires that capital improvements be prioritized based on criteria aligned with community development plans. The voters added that language in 2020. A budget that funds the housing project but skips the road not only ignores the CDP priority. It reverses it.
Article XI, section 9 of the Hawaiʻi Constitution protects the right to a clean and healthful environment. Adding thousands of residents to a community that cannot currently evacuate its existing population increases the risk of injury and death from wildfire.
What about the Kamakoa Drive extension?
Councilmember Hustace's amendment removed the "mini loop road" designation from the Kamakoa Nui appropriation, allowing the Office of Housing and Community Development to direct some of those funds toward extending Kamakoa Drive makai to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
We would not oppose that. It is county land, it is part of the corridor, and it would be a genuine step.
But it is a step, not the road. The mauka segment stops at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The piece that actually gets you out, the makai segment down to Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway, crosses private land and does not exist yet. What exists today is a rough, unpaved track cut along the right-of-way with emergency funds, gated at both ends, one direction only. Fire crews cannot drive up it to reach us. A road that does not reach the highway is not a second access road.
Wildfire Safety Advocates have asked County Council to:
Complete the design and engineering work already funded to provide a firm cost estimate for the road.
Put a funding plan and construction schedule in place before county money is spent on housing infrastructure at the north end.
Coordinate the contracts so the second road is open to traffic before certificates of occupancy are issued for new housing there.
Points you can use in your own comment
You do not need to be an expert or write anything long. A few sentences in your own voice carries tremendous weight. If it helps, pull from these:
The South Kohala CDP names the second access road as the "top priority" for Waikōloa Village. It is the first Action Program in the plan. Kamakoa Nui has no Action Program at all.
County Charter section 10-6(a)(2) requires capital improvements to be prioritized in alignment with community development plans. Voters approved that requirement in 2020.
In the 2021 evacuation, residents were stuck in traffic for over an hour trying to leave the Village. That was with 7,000 people.
Planned housing would bring the Village past 10,000 residents, all still relying on one paved exit.
The new residents at the north end would be farthest from the only escape route.
The $2.5 million appropriated to design the connection to Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway has not been spent.
The unpaved emergency track is gated, one-directional, and unusable by fire crews coming in. It is not a second road.
The late Fire Chief Kazuo Todd told us the department cannot stop a wildfire driven by Red Flag winds. Evacuation is what saves lives.
If you live here, say so. If your kids are at Waikōloa Elementary, say so. If you sat in that traffic in 2021, describe it.
Tell them what you want: fund the second road, and make sure it is open to traffic before more residents are added.
Where to send your comment
Councilmember James Hustace (District 9, our district): james.hustace@hawaiicounty.gov
Full County Council testimony:counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov
The Mayor’s Office:mayorsoffice@hawaiicounty.gov
Include your name and that you are a Waikōloa Village resident or property owner.
Where this goes next
Council adopted the budget in June without changes. That is disappointing, but it is not the end of the conversation. Mahalo for your continuing support.
Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikōloa
