Hana Highway
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| Route 31 | |||||||||
| Hana Highway | |||||||||
| Length: | 68 mi (109 km) | ||||||||
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| From: | Kahului | ||||||||
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The Hāna Highway (also known as the Hana Road or Road To Hana) is the name given to the 68-mile (109 km) long stretch of Hawaii State Highways 36 and 360 which connect the population center of Kahului with the town of Hāna in east Maui. On the east after Kalepa bridge, Hana Highway continues to Kīpahulu as Hawaii Highway 31 (Piilani Highway), the first section of which is unofficially considered to be part of Hāna Highway. Although Hāna is only about 52 miles (84 km) from Kahului, a typical trip to Hāna takes about three hours, as the road is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one-lane bridges, requiring oncoming traffic to yield and occasionally causing brief traffic jams if two vehicles meet head-on. There are approximately 620 curves along Highway 360 from just east of Kahului to Hana, virtually all of it through lush, tropical rainforest. Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910 and all but one are still in use. That one bridge, badly damaged by erosion, has been paralleled by a portable steel Bailey bridge erected by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Signs on the old bridge warn pedestrians to stay off due to imminent collapse.
In August 2000 it was designated by President Bill Clinton as the "Hana Millennium Legacy Trail", with the trail start designated in the surfing community of Pāʻia. The Hāna Highway is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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[edit] Tourism
The Hāna Highway is a popular tourist attraction in Maui. Guidebooks often devote large sections to traveling the highway leading to the eastern side of Maui and document the many waterfalls and attractions that can be found along the way. Some of these attractions lie within or through private property and will often have "no trespassing" signs posted or even signs claiming that the attraction does not exist. All beach property in Hawaii, public or private, must allow public access. Some guidebooks document the "keep out" areas and ways past barbed wire fences and locked gates to reach attractions.
At the end of the Hāna Highway (actually past Hāna in a clockwise direction around eastern Maui) is the famous ʻOheʻo Gulch, also known as the "Seven Sacred Pools". This series of waterfalls and pools is located inside the Haleakala National Park. Presently, the dirt road just past Highway 31 is open, having re-opened in early October 2008. Previously, Highway 31 had been closed a short distance past Hāna due to damage incurred during a 2006 earthquake. As a result, motor tours generally beginning in Kahului and heading east on highways 36 and 360 toward Hana had to return the same way since it was not possible to circumnavigate eastern Maui via this route.
Scenic turnouts abound, including one for Wailua Falls near the aforementioned Seven Sacred Pools in Oheʻo. It is common to find rented cars and tour buses at these turnouts photographing the falls and buying souvenirs from roadside vendors.
[edit] State highway numbers
- Hawaii State Highway 36 from Kahului to Haiku-Pauwela
- Hawaii State Highway 360 from Haiku-Pauwela to Hāna
- Hawaii State Highway 31 from Hāna to Kalepa Gulch
[edit] Intersections with other highways
- Hawaii State Highway 32 in Kahului
- Hawaii State Highway 380 in Kahului
- Hawaii State Highway 37 in Kahului
[edit] External links
- Road to Hana Tips, The Official Maui Information Guide, 2007
- On the Road to Hana, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 27, 2000
