LIHUE » A consultant will review the potential for a road starting in Kapaa that could provide a bypass around Lihue.

The Kauai County administration last week signed a $450,000 contract for the study with engineering consulting firm SSFM. The county’s portion of the contract is $90,000.

The Garden Island reports a bypass could relieve Lihue road congestion but that the decision was questioned by county commissioners.

Tim Bynum says he initially supported the project because he was told a bypass was important for the island’s next landfill. He says he was told the opposite this year and that the bypass should be delayed.

Ken Tashima of the Department of Public Works says the contract’s first phase will collect information on existing roads. The final phase will analyze potential routes.