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Author Topic: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo  (Read 3693 times)

oscar

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HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« on: October 10, 2017, 10:39:46 PM »

An eastward extension of HI 200 (Saddle Rd./Daniel K. Inouye Highway) on the Big Island opened today. This closes a gap of about three miles between HI 200 and Puainako Street (HI 2000) in south Hilo. The project completes the modernization of the cross-island highway (once one of Hawaii's most dangerous highways, now one of the best) between Hilo and Mamalahoa Highway (HI 190) northeast of Kailua-Kona.

A further extension of HI 200, westward to Queen Kaahumanu Highway (HI 19) north of Kailua-Kona, is still in the environmental review process. No timetable for construction of that extension.
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theroadwayone

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2017, 11:41:27 PM »

Good to know; interesting to see how that will develop.
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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2017, 04:47:50 PM »

Nice!  That last stretch of old curvy road was the only unpleasant part about crossing the island.  The Saddle is a refreshing break from the tropical heat.

It would also be nice of the east end of HI 200 tied into the local streets better.  That dogleg one needs to take to continue on toward HI 11 is dumb.
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oscar

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2017, 08:18:32 PM »

It would also be nice of the east end of HI 200 tied into the local streets better.  That dogleg one needs to take to continue on toward HI 11 is dumb.

The east end of HI 200 now ties in more smoothly with Puainako Street (HI 2000). However, don't hold your breath on the HI 2000 dogleg at Komohana Street. AIUI, Hawaii DOT has put a hold on most new construction projects not already in progress, to focus on maintenance of the existing road network. That might not preclude extending the west end of HI 200 to the Kona coast at HI 19, but has put the dogleg fix on hold.
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Roadgeekteen

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2017, 09:13:58 PM »

I really liked this road when I visited Hawaii in 2014. I am not used to rural 2 lane roads like that out east.
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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2017, 09:20:05 PM »

As usual, I tend to take the opposite point of view of most people. Certainly Saddle Road was dangerous. That was well established. But it was a very fun road to drive. All the curves and hills made it a blast (when traffic wasn't an issue), although the pavement quality was pretty shit at times. At least the new routing is still curvy.

I spent some time driving in the UK a few years ago, and it gave me a fresh perspective on what was really "dangerous". Needless to say, much of the Scottish Highland roads made Saddle Road, in its previous incarnation, look like an interstate. Although, drivers there are much better. Americans don't seem to handle winding, narrow roads very well.

oscar

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2017, 09:31:10 PM »

As usual, I tend to take the opposite point of view of most people. Certainly Saddle Road was dangerous. That was well established. But it was a very fun road to drive. All the curves and hills made it a blast (when traffic wasn't an issue), although the pavement quality was pretty shit at times. At least the new routing is still curvy.

Well, fun to drive if you don't face oncoming traffic halfway in your lane, riding the centerline to avoid the rough outer pavement edges, on the segment through the Army base (which also had concrete tank crossings to add to the excitement). Also if you don't have to deal with the usual afternoon fog, with poor reflectorization, as cold air rolling down from Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa collides with moist air rolling in from the ocean. 

The old road was bad enough to keep talk simmering about splitting Hawaii County in half, since it was too slow and dangerous a drive from Kailua-Kona to the county seat in Hilo. Not an issue anymore.
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Roadgeekteen

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2017, 09:35:18 PM »

As usual, I tend to take the opposite point of view of most people. Certainly Saddle Road was dangerous. That was well established. But it was a very fun road to drive. All the curves and hills made it a blast (when traffic wasn't an issue), although the pavement quality was pretty shit at times. At least the new routing is still curvy.

Well, fun to drive if you don't face oncoming traffic halfway in your lane, riding the centerline to avoid the rough outer pavement edges, on the segment through the Army base (which also had concrete tank crossings to add to the excitement). Also if you don't have to deal with the usual afternoon fog, with poor reflectorization, as cold air rolling down from Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa collides with moist air rolling in from the ocean. 

The old road was bad enough to keep talk simmering about splitting Hawaii County in half, since it was too slow and dangerous a drive from Kailua-Kona to the county seat in Hilo. Not an issue anymore.
Quick question, when was the speed limit raised to 55?
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oscar

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2017, 09:41:42 PM »

Some segments were increased to 60 earlier this year. I don't know the history on increases to 55, though I dimly recall there were some 55 signs last I was there in 2013.
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jakeroot

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2017, 09:44:37 PM »

As usual, I tend to take the opposite point of view of most people. Certainly Saddle Road was dangerous. That was well established. But it was a very fun road to drive. All the curves and hills made it a blast (when traffic wasn't an issue), although the pavement quality was pretty shit at times. At least the new routing is still curvy.

Well, fun to drive if you don't face oncoming traffic halfway in your lane, riding the centerline to avoid the rough outer pavement edges, on the segment through the Army base (which also had concrete tank crossings to add to the excitement). Also if you don't have to deal with the usual afternoon fog, with poor reflectorization, as cold air rolling down from Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa collides with moist air rolling in from the ocean.

The old road was bad enough to keep talk simmering about splitting Hawaii County in half, since it was too slow and dangerous a drive from Kailua-Kona to the county seat in Hilo. Not an issue anymore.

The whole "traffic coming straight at you" thing has never bothered me. I've never been face to face with traffic that didn't scoot over in that scenario. I'm sure fog would be annoying though.

FWIW, I didn't personally drive Saddle Road (I was 13 when the most infamous section was rebuilt) -- my words were my fathers, who also holds a similar interest in curvy roads.

Realistically, the road needed to be replaced. Safety before fun is the government's unofficial motto. But the original road will always hold a place in enthusiast's hearts. No one looked at their phone on that road!

oscar

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #10 on: November 18, 2017, 10:08:55 PM »

But the original road will always hold a place in enthusiast's hearts. No one looked at their phone on that road!

Especially with no cellphone service on much of the road, back then and still.
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Roadgeekteen

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2017, 10:38:19 PM »

Some segments were increased to 60 earlier this year. I don't know the history on increases to 55, though I dimly recall there were some 55 signs last I was there in 2013.
Do you think that it could be increased to 65 if Hawaii increases their speed limit?
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oscar

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2017, 11:07:26 PM »

Some segments were increased to 60 earlier this year. I don't know the history on increases to 55, though I dimly recall there were some 55 signs last I was there in 2013.
Do you think that it could be increased to 65 if Hawaii increases their speed limit?

Even the Interstates are only 60 maximum, and it took a spectacularly-failed speed camera experiment to get them raised from 55. Indeed, Hawaii was the last vestige of the hated 55mph National Maximum Speed Limit.

Not exactly the state where you'd expect speed limit increases -- I was surprised when parts of HI 200 went to 60 (only non-freeway in the state with that limit that I know of). Especially with the short travel distances everywhere in the state -- the longest highway is less than 125 miles long, and the longest freeway less than 30 miles long -- there just isn't a lot of public pressure for speed limit increases.
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Konaguy

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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #13 on: November 20, 2017, 03:12:02 PM »

I've followed the Saddle Road project ever since construction started on the improvements in 2004, so I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify, or update, some of the questions raised on this thread.

- The new east side segment opened up on October 11, 2017 between m.m 11.71 and m.m 5.67 on Puainako Street Extension. This entailed demolishing roughly about 1200 feet of Puainako Street Extension, and constructing two new tie-ins; one for the  new Saddle Road, and the other to connect to old Saddle Road/Kaumana Drive/Puainako Street Extension.

- The realignment/reconstruction of the segment of Puainako Street between Komohana and HWY11 is on hold, along with most  new capacity (highway) projects statewide. HDOT has decided to focus on system preservation versus constructing new highways.

- The exception is the Saddle Road Extension project, which the legislature provided matching state funds for the 80/20 Federal Highway Administration funding. This project is still going through the DEIS stage; FHWA/HDOT are trying to determine the best alignment on the makai side.

- The speed limit on Saddle Road was raised to 60MPH -except by m.m 18, Mauna Kea State Park, Pohakuloa Training Area main entrance, and by m.m 39 in January 2017. The legislature passed a resolution urging the HDOT to increase the speed limit from 55MPH to 60MPH. This action was taken after public outcry about the police doing excessive speed checks. The final east side segment between m.m 6 and 11 was excluded in this legislation. HDOT was given the option to increase the speed limit, which they won't do. 

- The improvements done to Saddle Road were well worth the time and effort. It used to take between 1 hour 45 minutes and 2 hours to drive to Hilo over Saddle Road. The amount of time it takes to reach Hilo after the improvements was cut to 1 hour  and 20 minutes now. This has resulted in more traffic using this highway now from 300 AADT to 4,600 AADT. There has been a 80% reduction in traffic accidents also.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2017, 04:21:46 PM by Konaguy »
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Re: HI 200 extended eastward to fill gap in Hilo
« Reply #14 on: November 20, 2017, 07:42:23 PM »

The improvements done to Saddle Road were well worth the time and effort. It used to take between 1 hour 45 minutes and 2 hours to drive to Hilo over Saddle Road. The amount of time it takes to reach Hilo after the improvements was cut to 1 hour  and 20 minutes now. This has resulted in more traffic using this highway now from 300 AADT to 4,600 AADT. There has been a 80% reduction in traffic accidents also.

Damn. That's stat alone proves that the efforts were worthwhile. An 80% reduction in traffic accidents, despite traffic levels rising ~1550%. Nice! I think that sort of improvement is unparalled anywhere else. Traffic accidents usually rise as the AADT does.

 


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