Hana Highway

Hāna Highway
Hāna Millennium Legacy Trail
Route information
Maintained by HDOT
Length: 64.40 mi[1][2][3] (103.64 km)
Component
highways:		 Route 36 from Kahului to Haiku-Pauwela
Route 360 from Haiku-Pauwela to Kalepa Gulch
Major junctions
West end: Route 32 in Kahului
East end: Route 31 in Haleakalā Nat'l Park
Location
Counties: Maui
Highway system

Routes in Hawaii

← Route 32BRoute 36A →
← Route 340Route 361 →
Hāna Belt Road
Aerial view of the Hāna Highway
Nearest city Makawao, Hawaii
Coordinates 20°53′52″N 156°13′20″W / 20.89778°N 156.22222°W / 20.89778; -156.22222
Area 153 acres (62 ha)
Built 1900
Architectural style Basalt arch, et al.
NRHP Reference # 01000615[4]
Added to NRHP June 15, 2001

The Hāna Highway is a 64.4-mile (103.6 km) long stretch of Hawaii Routes 36 and 360 which connects Kahului with the town of Hāna in east Maui. On the east after Kalepa Bridge, the highway continues to Kīpahulu as Hawaii Route 31 (the Piilani Highway). Although Hāna is only about 52 miles (84 km) from Kahului, it takes about 2.5 hours to drive when no stops are made as the highway is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one lane wide.[5] There are approximately 620 curves along Route 360 from just east of Kahului to Hāna, 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 That one bridge, badly damaged by erosion, has been replaced by a portable steel ACROW bridge erected by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

In August 2000, the highway was designated as the Hāna Millennium Legacy Trail by President Bill Clinton, with the trail start designated in Pāʻia.[5] The Hāna Highway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 15, 2001.[4]

Tourism

Coastal view along the highway

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, documenting 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 beaches in Hawaii are public. Some guidebooks document the "keep out" areas and ways past barbed wire fences and locked gates to reach attractions.

Beyond the town of Hāna, the Hāna Highway becomes Hawaii State Road 330 and leads to the ʻOheʻo Gulch where the Seven Sacred Pools are located within the Kipahulu Area of the Haleakala National Park.

Occasionally the dirt road past Route 31 is closed to traffic due to landslides. However, although it is somewhat rough in places, it is by no means a daunting or particularly dangerous road if taken slowly.

Scenic turnouts abound, including one for Wailua Falls near the Seven Sacred Pools in Oheʻo.

History

The highway hugs the mountainside around an inlet

in the sixteenth century, Maui's King Pi'ilani conquered East Maui and drew Hana into his political sphere. Pi'ilani built the Alaloa, the "long road," from West Maui, a road on which travelers reportedly swung themselves over East Maui's rushing streams with ropes made of vines. Later, Piilani's son, Kihapiilani, extended the Alaloa into the Hana District. When completed, the road was 4' to 6' wide, 138 miles long, and paved with hand-fitted basalt (lava) rocks.[6] Modern road construction to Hana began in the 1870s, with an unpaved road built to facilitate the construction of the Hämäkua Ditch. Part of The East Maui Irrigation System, the Hämäkua Ditch brought water from the rainforests of Haleakalā to semi-arid central Maui to support the sugarcane industry.[7]

Road construction continued in the early 1900s and was extended piecemeal until the full road to Hana was officially opened on December 18, 1926. Construction of bridges continued through the 1930s and the road was not completely paved until the 1960s.[6]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Maui County.

Locationmi[1][2][3]kmDestinationsNotes
Kahului0.00.0 Route 32 (Kaahumanu Avenue)Northern terminus of Route 36, western terminus of Hana Highway
0.20.3 Route 32A north (Kamehameeha Avenue)No southbound access, southern terminus of Route 32A
0.61.0 Route 36A east (Haleakala Highway) – AirportWestern terminus of Route 36A
0.91.4 Route 380 (Dairy Road) – Airport, Kihei, Lahaina
2.94.7 Route 37 (Haleakala Highway) – Airport, Pukalani, Makawao, Kula
Paia6.710.8Baldwin Avenue – Makawao
 16.226.1 Route 365 south (Kaupakalua Road)
Route 36 / Route 360		Northern terminus of Route 365
Eastern terminus of Route 36, western terminus of Route 360
Keanae32.852.8Keanae Road – Keanae
Hana47.676.6 Alalele Road – Hana Airport
48.177.4Honokalani Road – Waianapanapa State Park
49.980.3Uakea Road – Hana Bay
50.681.4Keawa Place – Hana BayFormer terminus of state maintenance
Hamoa Beach52.484.3Haneoo Road – Hamoa Beach, Koki Beach
Haleakala National Park60.797.7Haleakala National Park – Kipahulu AreaAccess to Oheʻo Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools)
Kalepa Gulch64.4103.6Kalepa Bridge
64.4103.6 Route 31 west (Piilani Highway)Eastern terminus of Route 360 and the Hana Highway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Google (August 28, 2014). "Hana Highway (1)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Microsoft; Nokia (August 28, 2014). "Hana Highway (2)" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Google (August 28, 2014). "Hana Highway (3)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  5. 1 2 Kubota, Gary T. (October 27, 2000). "On the road to... Hana". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Historic American Engineering Record, Hana Belt Road, HAER No. HI-75" (PDF). Library of Congress. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ Duensing, Dawn (2007). "The Hana Belt Road: Paving the Way for Tourism" (PDF). Hawaiian Journal of History (Hawaiian Historical Society) 41. Retrieved January 13, 2016.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hana Belt Road.
Browse numbered routes
← Route 32BRoute 36A →
← Route 340Route 361 →
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