Hawaii Route 200
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Route 200, known locally as Saddle Road, is a road that traverses the width of the Island of Hawaiʻi, from downtown Hilo to its junction with State Route 190 near Waimea. The road was considered one of the most dangerous paved roads in the state, with many one-lane bridges and areas of marginally maintained pavement, While sections of the road have been improved to modern standards, several sections remain dangerously substandard. The highway reaches a maximum height of 6,632 feet (2,021 m) and is subject to fog and low visibility. Many rental car companies used to prohibit use of their cars on Saddle Road, but most now permit use of the road. The highway experiences heavy use as it provides the shortest route from Hilo to Kailua-Kona and access to the slopes of Mauna Loa and the observatories atop Mauna Kea.
- Total miles = 53.6 (86.3km)
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[edit] History
While planning for the defense of the Hawaiian Islands in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army hastily built an access road in 1942 to service its Pohakūloa Training Area and Bradshaw Army Airfield in the Humuʻula Highlands of Parker Ranch. Since it was not intended as a civilian road, the construction method was simple: clear, grade, pave. Military vehicles of all types and treads traversed the Island for the next three years.
Following the end of World War II in 1945, the Army turned over jurisdiction of the road to the Territory of Hawaiʻi and it was designated "state route 20". However, the territorial government had few funds to maintain the road, let alone upgrade it to civilian standards. The story was the same as the islands became the State of Hawaiʻi in 1959. Saddle Road was subsequently handed to the County of Hawaiʻi and for many years only minimal maintenance was performed, leading to generally poor conditions and the source of the road's notorious reputation.
In recent years there has been increased attention on the road, with efforts to rebuild and renovate the highway into a practical cross island route. This has culminated in the repaving of some sections and complete rebuilding of others.
[edit] Waiʻānuenue Avenue
The mile marker 0 is posted in Hilo on the traffic signal at the intersection of Waiānenue Avenue, Kamehameha Avenue and Bayfront Highway at coordinates 19°43′36″N 155°5′12″W / 19.72667°N 155.08667°WCoordinates: 19°43′36″N 155°5′12″W / 19.72667°N 155.08667°W. The route continues mauka along Waiʻānuenue Avenue to a little over a half-mile past the mile 1 where it veers left onto Kaūmana Drive near Gilbert Carvalho Park. Further along Waiānuenue Avenue is Rainbow Falls Park (Waiānuenue means "rainbow" in the Hawaiian language).[1]
- Total miles = 1.7 (2.7 km)
[edit] Kaūmana Drive
Starting at the “Y” junction adjacent to Gilbert Carvalho Park, Highway 200 continues mauka (uphill) on Kaūmana Drive and provides access to many neighbourhoods overlooking Hilo. The road is quite narrow and windy with many blind corners, hidden driveways and open drainage ditches. Near mile 4 it passes Kaumana Cave, a lava tube. Just past mile 6 (coordinates 19°40′51″N 155°9′23″W / 19.68083°N 155.15639°W) is the junction with Pūʻāinakō Street Extension, (state route 2000), completed in September 2004 as a bypass of the above-mentioned windy sections. The intersection with Ua Nahele Street at mile 8 marks the mauka terminus of Kaūmana Drive.
- Total miles = 6.2 (9.9 km)
[edit] Saddle Road
The official start of Saddle Road is at the “T” intersection of Ua Nahele Street at mile 8. This is the last neighborhood through which the route will pass. As it has from its beginning in Hilo, Route 200 continues to climb towards the Humuʻula Saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The rainforest of the Hilo Forest Reserve and Upper Waiākea Forest Reserve surround the roadway and begin to thin as the elevation increases. Quality of the asphalt surface is quite good on this side of the crest but there are many curves and rises with limited visual distances.
Renovation of the existing section from mileposts 19 to 28 was finished in October 2008.
The terrain becomes the high lava desert of the Humuʻula Saddle. Two roads intersect Saddle Road close to Puʻu Huluhulu at its crest near mile 28 at 6,632 feet (2,021 m) above sea level:
- Mauna Loa Observatory Road is an unmarked 17.1 mile (27.5km) long narrow rough (but paved) road which winds its way towards Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, Mauna Loa Atmospheric Observatory, and AMiBA on the slopes of Mauna Loa. The road connects with the route of the Hilo-Kona Road, started in 1949 by Tom Vance, who spearheaded several civil engineering projects on-Island: he spent $1 million to build a straight road on the Hilo-Kona alignment but work stopped a year later when the work camp caught fire one night and burned everything.
- Mauna Kea Summit Road (known as John A. Burns Way) provides access to Onizuka Center for International Astronomy (elevation 9,300 ft / 2,835m) then climbs Mauna Kea to the height of 13,780 ft (4,200m) at grades averaging 17% making this the third highest public road in the United States. The road is 14 miles (23 km) long, of which the first 6 miles (to the Onizuka Center) and the last 3 miles (4.8 km) are paved. Puʻu Wēkiu is the highest point in Hawaiʻi at 13,796 ft (4,208m) and is home to Poliʻahu, Goddess of Snow. Many of the world's best observatories occupy the summit area and are under the jurisdiction of the University of Hawaiʻi. Driving from sea level to the top of Mauna Kea Summit Road provides the greatest elevation gain possible by car in one state.
The entirely new six and a half mile segment from milepost 28 to 35 was dedicated and opened to traffic on May 29, 2007 with Senator Daniel K. Inouye as the keynote speaker and other local dignitaries in attendance. The new segment is some of the best road on the island, quite a contrast to the roadway it replaced further out into the Pōhakuloa Training Area. The old section of roadway included some of the more dangerous features of the old Saddle Road. This included a sharp curve, blind corner and one way bridge near the entrance to Mauna Kea State Park that was acknowledged as one of the worst on the roadway. In contrast the new section was constructed to full federal highway standards, with wide shoulders, rumble strips, good signage and emergency phones at regular intervals.
From milepost 35 to 44 the road passes the main gates of Pōhakuloa Training Area and Bradshaw Army Airfield before continuing across the military reservation. Military vehicles — including armored personnel carriers — occasionally cross or occupy the roadway. Artillery exercises, including live fire, are not uncommon with batteries set up along the roadway firing towards Mauna Loa. This section of the road was repaved in the summer of 2008, greatly improvong the conditions.
In August 2009 the latest completely rebuilt section, from milepost 35 to 42, was opened to public travel. The section relocates the highway to the Mauna Kea side of the Army base facilities and Bradshaw Army Airfield.
From milepost 44, near Kilohana, to the Māmalahoa Highway the road retains its original character, a narrow ribbon of poorly maintained pavement with crumbling edges. There are several more one lane bridges, blind curves and hills. It is common for drivers to negotiate the center of the road to avoid the rough shoulders, moving back into the lane only when necessary to pass traffic proceeding in the opposite direction. The route is quite scenic with views of the coastline, the Hualalai and Kohala Volcanoes, winding its way across Parker Ranch and through the development of Waikiʻi.
The terminus of Route 200 comes at its junction with Māmalahoa Highway (state route 190) six miles (9.6km) kona of Waimea (coordinates 19°56′9″N 155°41′14″W / 19.93583°N 155.68722°W).
- Total miles = 45.7 (73.6km)
[edit] Future plans
Construction to realign the section of the highway from milepost 11 to 19 has started in November 2009.
Other realignment proposals include a section near Kaūmana Country Club Estates as well as one that would bypass Waikiʻi and connect to Māmalahoa Highway at either mile 15 or at the mauka terminus of Waikōloa Road. Eventual plans are to complete a section past Māmalahoa Highway down to the coast and intersecting the Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway (state route 19) to support cross-island commuting by tourists and resort employees. The route for the entirely new sections of the highway are in some question as changes are needed in light of recent expansion of the military exercise areas. Completion of these projects represent a major realignment of island traffic patterns and conversion of this notorious roadway into a modern state highway.
[edit] Junctions
State Highways are show in the state shield, and County funded roads are with (××). Former or unmarked routes are indicated by an asterisk.
| Mile | Town |  |
Street Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ø | Hilo |  |
Kamehameha Avenue / Bayfront Highway |
| 6 | Kaūmana Country Club Estates |  |
Pūʻāinakō Street Extension |
| 27 | * | Mauna Loa Observatory Road | |
| 28 | * | Mauna Kea Summit Road | |
| 41 | (201) | Saddle Road (proposed) | |
| 53 |  |
Māmalahoa Highway |
[edit] References
- ^ lookup of "Waianuenue" on Hawaiian place names web site
