Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[rte66man]

About a week or so ago, I saw a car with a Hawaii plate here in KC. How is it possible to find such cars on the mainland?

I see almost weekly in LA. In Oklahoma my neighbor is from Hawaii and was rocking Hawaii plates for awhile.

What I’m curious about is I’ve seen cars that fit the rental car look to a tee and have Hawaii plates which I wonder about.

If those are in fact rental cars, perhaps it is that there is a larger market for people to rent cars in Hawaii (given its a vacation destination) than there is a market for selling rental cars on the used car market.  If the price differential is great enough, that may cover the costs of shipping the car.  The rental car co. would ship the car to the mainland for resale and then put it up for auction.  While it is owned by the rental car co., there is no need to change the plates.

Bought a used car recently from a dealer. Ran the Carfax and found oout the previous owner was a rental company in Hawaii.  You must be right about the markup.

[gonealookin]

About a week or so ago, I saw a car with a Hawaii plate here in KC. How is it possible to find such cars on the mainland?

Might be military. One perk of service is the Feds cover relocation expenses for servicemembers ordered to move to a new duty station. That includes barging their personal vehicles between Hawaii and the mainland, something too expensive for most of the rest of us (standard advice for people moving to Hawaii is to sell their cars on the mainland, and buy replacements once in Hawaii). When that happens, many if not all states will let the servicemembers keep their Hawaii plates, at least as long as they remain on active duty.

Today on HI 19 I saw the reverse; I was behind a car with California plates.  I didn't see any DOD identification.  It had a large sticker which appeared to be a temporary permit from the Hawaii DMV.  It was a Tesla; I was thinking, probably somebody with enough money that they shipped one of their own cars over ahead of them for the winter stay at their villa, rather than settling for a rental from Dollar like the rest of us.

[Max Rockatansky]

About a week or so ago, I saw a car with a Hawaii plate here in KC. How is it possible to find such cars on the mainland?

Might be military. One perk of service is the Feds cover relocation expenses for servicemembers ordered to move to a new duty station. That includes barging their personal vehicles between Hawaii and the mainland, something too expensive for most of the rest of us (standard advice for people moving to Hawaii is to sell their cars on the mainland, and buy replacements once in Hawaii). When that happens, many if not all states will let the servicemembers keep their Hawaii plates, at least as long as they remain on active duty.

Today on HI 19 I saw the reverse; I was behind a car with California plates.  I didn't see any DOD identification.  It had a large sticker which appeared to be a temporary permit from the Hawaii DMV.  It was a Tesla; I was thinking, probably somebody with enough money that they shipped one of their own cars over ahead of them for the winter stay at their villa, rather than settling for a rental from Dollar like the rest of us.

Strictly speaking for the DON I’m not aware of any CONUS Navy Base that still requires base registration stickers.  Most bases got rid of those around 2013-2014. 

[triplemultiplex]

In the 2+ months I was bouncing around the islands for work, I could count on one hand the number of non-Hawaii license plates I saw in Hawaii.
(All CA or NV, if memory serves.)
That doesn't include the vehicle I was driving, which had Wisconsin tags.

[bing101]

About a week or so ago, I saw a car with a Hawaii plate here in KC. How is it possible to find such cars on the mainland?

Might be military. One perk of service is the Feds cover relocation expenses for servicemembers ordered to move to a new duty station. That includes barging their personal vehicles between Hawaii and the mainland, something too expensive for most of the rest of us (standard advice for people moving to Hawaii is to sell their cars on the mainland, and buy replacements once in Hawaii). When that happens, many if not all states will let the servicemembers keep their Hawaii plates, at least as long as they remain on active duty.

I remember here in California, Hawaii License plates would have been common for out of state license plates along with Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Texas at one point.

[gonealookin]

The logical westward extension of HI 200, the Daniel K. Inouye Highway or "Saddle Road" across the Big Island, from its current western end up on the hill at HI 190 down to the Queen Kaahumanu Highway (HI 19) near the coast, is a long-term project but at least it's still in an active planning stage.  Here's this week's update in the local paper.

The $90 million project’s final environmental impact statement (EIS) is progressing toward completion, nearly four years after the draft version was released in 2017 for public review, according to the state Department of Transportation. The state expects to begin moving into the rights of way acquisition phase later this year, but beyond that, the timeline is foggy.

“We cannot provide a schedule for project construction as we have not identified a funding source for the project,”  said Shelly Kunishige, DOT spokeswoman.

The project will extend the cross-island route, known colloquially as Saddle Road, from its current terminus at Mamalahoa Highway near the South Kohala-North Kona boundary to Queen Kaahumanu Highway. The approximately 10.5-mile extension is expected to take about two years to construct once work is underway.

[Alps]

The logical westward extension of HI 200, the Daniel K. Inouye Highway or "Saddle Road" across the Big Island, from its current western end up on the hill at HI 190 down to the Queen Kaahumanu Highway (HI 19) near the coast, is a long-term project but at least it's still in an active planning stage.  Here's this week's update in the local paper.

The $90 million project’s final environmental impact statement (EIS) is progressing toward completion, nearly four years after the draft version was released in 2017 for public review, according to the state Department of Transportation. The state expects to begin moving into the rights of way acquisition phase later this year, but beyond that, the timeline is foggy.

“We cannot provide a schedule for project construction as we have not identified a funding source for the project,”  said Shelly Kunishige, DOT spokeswoman.

The project will extend the cross-island route, known colloquially as Saddle Road, from its current terminus at Mamalahoa Highway near the South Kohala-North Kona boundary to Queen Kaahumanu Highway. The approximately 10.5-mile extension is expected to take about two years to construct once work is underway.

Google shows one road as Saddle/200 and the other as Inouye. Obviously Inouye is (and is signed as) 200. But what is that western part of Saddle Rd. internally? Is it 2000 or decommissioned?

[oscar]

Google shows one road as Saddle/200 and the other as Inouye. Obviously Inouye is (and is signed as) 200. But what is that western part of Saddle Rd. internally? Is it 2000 or decommissioned?

There's a 2000 in Hilo, which AFAIK is the only 2000.

The western part of old Saddle Road through Waiki'i, after the new 200 alignment was built to the south, was turned over to Hawaii County. Fairly recent GMSV shows no route number signage on the old road, and all HI 200 signage on HI 190 points to the new road. IIRC the original plan was to make the old road county 201, but I don't know if the county made that an internal designation.

[triplemultiplex]

Google shows one road as Saddle/200 and the other as Inouye. Obviously Inouye is (and is signed as) 200. But what is that western part of Saddle Rd. internally? Is it 2000 or decommissioned?

IIRC the original plan was to make the old road county 201, but I don't know if the county made that an internal designation.

I have a resource from work that calls the old saddle road "SR 40810".
That resource is a shapefile of selected Hawaii County Roads for a specific project and that is the only road in that shapefile with a "SR" designation.  Everything else is "CR", so whatever that is worth.  The number is consistent with other routes in the island's north so it seems reliable.

Good to see there's momentum to finish the highway to the west coast.  SR 190 sucks.  They should be at a place now where it is 'shovel ready' in the event the latest round of infrastructure investment by the feds isn't just talk this time.

[bing101]

Here is a cool ride in Honolulu.

[Bruce]

Just finished up this project on the history of H-2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_H-2

Looking at doing the rest of Oahu's Interstates, but the available material is lacking (in H-201's case) or overwhelming (especially for H-3). If anyone knows where to find a proper milepost log and/or historic maps, let me know!

[Plutonic Panda]

Just out of curiosity are there any major road projects going on in Hawaii? Seems like Hawaii without a doubt is the most anti-freeway state. It’s no coincidence they have some of the worst traffic.

[Max Rockatansky]

Just finished up this project on the history of H-2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_H-2

Looking at doing the rest of Oahu's Interstates, but the available material is lacking (in H-201's case) or overwhelming (especially for H-3). If anyone knows where to find a proper milepost log and/or historic maps, let me know!

All the H-201 stuff you need is the AASHTO database.  It even references things like H-1A and H-101.  I didn’t find much in there for H-1, H-2 or H-3.

[Bruce]

Just finished up this project on the history of H-2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_H-2

Looking at doing the rest of Oahu's Interstates, but the available material is lacking (in H-201's case) or overwhelming (especially for H-3). If anyone knows where to find a proper milepost log and/or historic maps, let me know!

All the H-201 stuff you need is the AASHTO database.  It even references things like H-1A and H-101.  I didn’t find much in there for H-1, H-2 or H-3.

Unfortunately it wouldn't have much on the pre-interstate history of the highway, which was built with a 50% federal match in the 1960s/1970s. I'm slowly piecing together a timeline from newspaper sources, but they aren't complete.

[Max Rockatansky]

Just finished up this project on the history of H-2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_H-2

Looking at doing the rest of Oahu's Interstates, but the available material is lacking (in H-201's case) or overwhelming (especially for H-3). If anyone knows where to find a proper milepost log and/or historic maps, let me know!

All the H-201 stuff you need is the AASHTO database.  It even references things like H-1A and H-101.  I didn’t find much in there for H-1, H-2 or H-3.

Unfortunately it wouldn't have much on the pre-interstate history of the highway, which was built with a 50% federal match in the 1960s/1970s. I'm slowly piecing together a timeline from newspaper sources, but they aren't complete.

While that is true it does have some:

-  It was part of Federal Aid Primary 78.
-  The ADT when HI 78 application to be added as an Interstate was filed (70,000-150,000 vehicles). 
-  The date HI 78 was available for traffic (1/23/1975).
-  The date H-201 was approved by the AASHTO Executive Committee (12/8/1990).

For a Wikipedia highway stub that’s generally far more information they typically get.  They even have some of the maps which might fit what you are looking for. 

[roadwaywiz95]

For this upcoming weekend's Webinar presentation, we'll be taking a look at the freeway & highway system of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, including the city of Honolulu and its island suburbs. During the Winter of 2021-22, the team at Gribblenation.org constructed a complete blog series on Oahu's state highway system and documented the island's network of major roadways in a comprehensive manner. This Webinar is intended to serve as a "capstone" for the efforts of the Gribblenation staff in recent weeks/months as we recap everything the island has to offer from a roads perspective (and just a little bit more!).

Coverage will begin on Saturday (4/30) at 6 PM ET and will feature live contributions from members of this forum, including members of the Gribblenation.org team; we hope to see you there!

[SSOWorld]

The logical westward extension of HI 200, the Daniel K. Inouye Highway or "Saddle Road" across the Big Island, from its current western end up on the hill at HI 190 down to the Queen Kaahumanu Highway (HI 19) near the coast, is a long-term project but at least it's still in an active planning stage.  Here's this week's update in the local paper.

The $90 million project’s final environmental impact statement (EIS) is progressing toward completion, nearly four years after the draft version was released in 2017 for public review, according to the state Department of Transportation. The state expects to begin moving into the rights of way acquisition phase later this year, but beyond that, the timeline is foggy.

“We cannot provide a schedule for project construction as we have not identified a funding source for the project,”  said Shelly Kunishige, DOT spokeswoman.

The project will extend the cross-island route, known colloquially as Saddle Road, from its current terminus at Mamalahoa Highway near the South Kohala-North Kona boundary to Queen Kaahumanu Highway. The approximately 10.5-mile extension is expected to take about two years to construct once work is underway.

Google shows one road as Saddle/200 and the other as Inouye. Obviously Inouye is (and is signed as) 200. But what is that western part of Saddle Rd. internally? Is it 2000 or decommissioned?

Visually - decommissioned.  200 was rerouted onto the new road.  2000 turns right "off itself" onto Pauinako St to End at at Kaumana Dr (former 200) and 200 takes over. The whole routing of 2000 really is so stupid as they took it to a point where they intended to make it a 4-lane at Kohomana St in Hilo but then ended the split road there and turned 2000 onto the cross street with poor lane management and turned it onto Puainako St through residential and school zones with out any fanfare.  I was dumbfounded by it when I visited last month that the route was not completed, but I guess it's so much of a usual HDOT action taken.  All those container trucks from Kona seem forced onto old Saddle Road and Kaumana Drive to get back to the port to refill. (they end up taking many narrow highways (190, Waikola Road, Old Saddle, etc) and put many residential Hilo neighborhoods in danger (IMO) because 11 and 19 are not safe routes for semi trucks (for a lack of a better term given it's on islands and they only transport containers between Kona and Hilo.

[oscar]

2000 turns right "off itself" onto Pauinako St to End at at Kaumana Dr (former 200) and 200 takes over. The whole routing of 2000 really is so stupid as they took it to a point where they intended to make it a 4-lane at Kohomana St in Hilo but then ended the split road there and turned 2000 onto the cross street with poor lane management and turned it onto Puainako St through residential and school zones with out any fanfare.  I was dumbfounded by it when I visited last month that the route was not completed, but I guess it's so much of a usual HDOT action taken.  All those container trucks from Kona seem forced onto old Saddle Road and Kaumana Drive to get back to the port to refill. (they end up taking many narrow highways (190, Waikola Road, Old Saddle, etc) and put many residential Hilo neighborhoods in danger (IMO) because 11 and 19 are not safe routes for semi trucks (for a lack of a better term given it's on islands and they only transport containers between Kona and Hilo.

Definitely a messy situation. Hawaii DOT had plans to straighten HI 2000. But this fell by the wayside, after the Governor ordered the DOT to make only minor improvements to maintain the existing network, with a few exceptions for major projects such as extending HI 200 from HI 190 to HI 19.

The need for truckers to haul containers cross-island, from Hilo to Kailua-Kona via the FUBAR'd Hilo highway network, is in part that Kailua-Kona doesn't have a deep-draft harbor, just a small boat harbor. Kawaihae, north of Kailua-Kona via HI 19 and HI 270, has a deep-draft harbor, the only one on the Big Island other than Hilo's. I don't know why the container ship operators don't make greater use of the Kawaihae harbor, maybe the operators prefer to centralize their operations in Hilo, and think the Big Island is not populous enough (about 200K population) to support two container ports.

[gonealookin]

More of a general news topic, so I'll post it here rather than in the post linking to the blog entries about the Maui highways.

...
Hawaii Route 30 and Hawaii Route 3000
https://www.gribblenation.org/2022/11/hawaii-route-30-and-hawaii-route-3000.html

The state is starting to consider moving a 6-mile segment of Hawaii 30 southeast of Lahaina further inland, partly due to expected rising sea level.

https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2022/11/state-plans-to-launch-study-on-highway-realignment/

Given the seasonal high surf, king tides, stormwater runoff and the predicted 3.2-foot sea level rise that is undermining the roadway, the proposed project aims to address the section from Mile Post 11 in the vicinity of Ukumehame Beach and Mile Post 17 at the southern terminus of the existing Lahaina Bypass in the vicinity of Launiupoko, south of Lahaina town.

The project site would be 3/4-mile wide inland from the current highway alignment, covering the coastal plain in this area, the report said.
...
Shorelines in these areas have been eroding an average of between 1.4 feet per year and 1.9 feet per year, according to University of Hawaii’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology Coastal Geology Group.
...
All alternatives would move at least a portion of the highway inland, away from the existing coastline and projected sea level rise flooding areas. On the Launiupoko end, all alternatives would connect the improved Honoapiilani Highway with the Lahaina Bypass.

[froggie]

https://wtop.com/lifestyle/2022/12/molten-lava-on-hawaiis-big-island-could-block-main-highway/

Lava flows from the recently erupted Mauna Loa may cross Saddle Rd/HI 200 in upcoming days.  Which will make a wreck of cross-Big Island travel and make the bad situation Oscar mentioned upthread of trucks and goods crossing the island just that much worse.

[bing101]

Solar Catcher does a tour on Big Island.

[The Ghostbuster]

Is anyone aware of the once-proposed Interstate H-4? It was proposed in the 1960s as a bypass of existing Interstate H-1 in Honolulu. It would have started at H-1's Exit 18 and concluded at Exit 25. Although it was never built, there are still freeway-to-freeway ramps at both terminuses, and it likely would have relieved congestion on H-1 (the intention for its construction). Unsurprisingly, intense local opposition prevented its construction. More info here: http://www.hawaiihighways.com/proposed-Interstate-H4-report.pdf.

[Max Rockatansky]

Is anyone aware of the once-proposed Interstate H-4? It was proposed in the 1960s as a bypass of existing Interstate H-1 in Honolulu. It would have started at H-1's Exit 18 and concluded at Exit 25. Although it was never built, there are still freeway-to-freeway ramps at both terminuses, and it likely would have relieved congestion on H-1 (the intention for its construction). Unsurprisingly, intense local opposition prevented its construction. More info here: http://www.hawaiihighways.com/proposed-Interstate-H4-report.pdf.

RoadwayWiz and I did our own take regarding H-4.  Essentially much of Hawaii Route 92 was built atop what would have been the H-4 corridor:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/12/paper-highways-interstate-h-4-through.html?m=1

[The Ghostbuster]

I believe kurumi once suggested that an Interstate H-4 should be constructed on Maui: http://kurumi.com/roads/3di/ix01.html#201hi.

[Max Rockatansky]

I believe kurumi once suggested that an Interstate H-4 should be constructed on Maui: http://kurumi.com/roads/3di/ix01.html#201hi.

Where though?  Kihei is blowing up in terms of development but there isn’t much there that would require a freeway per se along HI 31.  Perhaps Lahaina to Kahului via HI 3000, HI 30, HI 380 and HI 3800?