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Big Island roads

Started by Max Rockatansky, June 22, 2024, 02:14:46 PM

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Max Rockatansky

I'm one day into this trip.  Most of yesterday was spent on the northwest side of the island.  HI 250 and HI 270 were the show stealers:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/151828809@N08/5ahWV7j269

Today we are following HI 11 towards Hilo and back.  My wife has a broken foot which negates really any hiking I may have planned previously.  She ended up getting a temporary handicap placard which has come in handy a couple times already.


1995hoo

Small world. My brother was on the Big Island this weekend in advance of a business trip to Honolulu. I sent him a message about something on Saturday night Eastern Time and he sent back a photo from the foot of the Mauna Kea access road.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

MikeTheActuary

My wife and I visited the Big Island almost 2 years ago.   I didn't get to do much roadgeek related due to a stomach bug nasty enough to earn my wife an ambulance ride, but the day that we flew home, as part of testing whether we could fly without risking a biohazard incident, I had the opportunity to drive a surviving bit of the Saddle Road, as we drove from Kamuela (Waimea) to Hilo.   It's not as rough as the Saddle Road was reported to be before it was upgraded / realigned / bypassed...but it was still a good drive in terms of scenery, watching the change in microclimates, and road attributes.

Rothman

Spent a couple of days on the Big Island over ten years ago.  Lava flow wreaked havoc near Kalapana.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

kurumi

My first SF/horror short story collection is available: "Young Man, Open Your Winter Eye"

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/therealkurumi.bsky.social

Max Rockatansky

#30
Just finished HI 11, I'm presently sitting waiting for lunch in downtown Hilo.  I ended up getting a couple County Route clinches, in particular the new segment of CR 187 in south Kona.  I also checked out HI 1970 at the airport in Hilo, still no signage.  Chain of Craters Road was in pretty bad shape today.  I was surprised my wife was willing to hike a bit in a boot. 

I'm to under my wife wants to see Punaluu Black Sand Beach the last full day we are here.  That will give me another crack at trying out CR 160.   Very likely at this point that I won't be bothering with the 130 range highways.

cl94

Chain of Craters Road wasn't great back in July on the first day of the earthquake sequence. I can only imagine how bad it has gotten with 3 months of earthquakes and eruptions. You aren't missing much with the 130s, though 132 does let you drive through the neighborhood destroyed by the 2018 eruption.

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach may not be the "best" black sand beach on the island, but it is the most accessible by far. I'd argue Kiholo Bay is better, albeit lacking in services, and the road to Kiholo is meh dirt. Make sure you visit South Point if you're down by Punalu'u- not only is the paved road there great for views, it is a geographic extreme point. Relatively easy walk from paved road parking to the actual southernmost point, which lies next to an ancient burial mound and a coral beach.

Re: 160, the national historical park near the end of state maintenance is worth a visit if you haven't been yet. Short interpretive trail, lots of tropical fish hang out in the cove there.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: cl94 on October 21, 2024, 11:31:47 PMChain of Craters Road wasn't great back in July on the first day of the earthquake sequence. I can only imagine how bad it has gotten with 3 months of earthquakes and eruptions. You aren't missing much with the 130s, though 132 does let you drive through the neighborhood destroyed by the 2018 eruption.

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach may not be the "best" black sand beach on the island, but it is the most accessible by far. I'd argue Kiholo Bay is better, albeit lacking in services, and the road to Kiholo is meh dirt. Make sure you visit South Point if you're down by Punalu'u- not only is the paved road there great for views, it is a geographic extreme point. Relatively easy walk from paved road parking to the actual southernmost point, which lies next to an ancient burial mound and a coral beach.

Re: 160, the national historical park near the end of state maintenance is worth a visit if you haven't been yet. Short interpretive trail, lots of tropical fish hang out in the cove there.

I have some of the photos of the damage on Chain of Craters in the photo album for today:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBP2fz

I did check out a couple Hawaii County Routes that I don't think I've seen anyone else cover.  CR 180 in particular was a very winding roadway which I'm not really seeing much utility in having a Sign Route on.  That seems be getting by on the fact that it was HI 18 a long time ago. 

Fair chance I'll revisit going to South Point given it seems that we are heading back that way.  Today was a monster and really pushing could be done in one day.  A lot of the stuff in Hilo took up more time than I thought it would.

Max Rockatansky

Stuff from Day 3:

https://flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/sets/72177720321443553

Hawaii Route 19 and 240 were both far more chill than I anticipated them being.  I think that I've figured out the traffic patterns coming/going from the Kona area.  I ended up finishing CR 182 avoiding the rush hour coming into Kona on northbound HI 11.   

We lucked out with getting a spot right away at Akaka Falls State Park.  Jessica had a hard enough time dragging her foot in a boot from the main parking lot at the end of HI 220.  A lot of people were just parking in the travel lanes of the highway and walking to the trailhead.

All and all this is the most chill of the three Hawaiian Islands I've been to.  I haven't found myself really fighting much for parking spots or getting stuck behind nervous drivers for more than just a couple minutes.  The locals drive on the slower side which makes them relatively easy to pass when opportunities open up. 

cl94

Oh yeah, I never had problems finding parking on the big island, even in Kona. Tourists get a late start, not a ton of people. Very laid back, not much traffic so easy to pass. And not all THAT expensive if you plan ahead.

HI 19 is a nice drive. Very clear that it's an old railroad ROW. Many of the bridges are reused railroad structures.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

Max Rockatansky

#35
Interestingly for some reason Hawai'i County Route 160 is signed as 161 on mile markers beginning at 7 on Napoopoo Road.  There weren't any reassurance shields, so effectively it is still signed fully as 160 from both sides of HI 11.

IMG_3131 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Speaking of today, there wasn't new ground given Jessica wasn't up for South Point:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBPg3J

Speaking of CR 160, the 2.5 miles on Puuhonua Road north of Pu'uhonua O Honauhau National Historical Park are super narrow.  Much of the grade had no curbs but rather ditches which for some reason were full of trash appliances and even one half of a car. 

I'm planning on seeing the constructed 1.2 miles of HI 197 on the way to the airport tomorrow.  Other than that, there isn't much I can think of that I can get in with half a day left on the trip (which I edited into the now consolidated Day 4 and 5 album).

Max Rockatansky

#36
The HIDOT website on State Maintained routes on the Big Island had some interesting information:

https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/home/hawaii/state-roads-and-highways/

By Highway:

HI 19 and HI 1370:  It appears 19 now ends alone at Hilo Harbor along Kuhio Street.  The map indicates HI 1370 begins at Kuhio Street and extends on Kalanianaole Street to Pua Avenue.  I'm not sure if this is actually different than what Oscar had on his page as the ending for 1370 was the east entrance to Hilo Harbor.

CR 160:  Keala O'Keawe Road is no longer part of the State Highway System and has been turned over to the county.  This might explain why there is now a CR 160 and CR 161. 

HI 200:  Now ends at the Hilo Urban Boundary near where it meets the recently extended HI 2000.  The log map indicates Saddle Road towards Waimea is still state maintained as Old HI 200.  Some of the older alignments of Saddle Road apparently are under state maintenance in Bradshaw Army Airfield.

HI 210:  HIDOT has picked up has picked up maintenance of the Mauna Kea Access Road to the Visitor Information Station as an un-signed state highway.

CR 240:  Hawaii Route 240 was turned over the county.

HI 1970:  Is no longer part of the state highway network.

Max Rockatansky

#37
I thought this was interesting.  Pjammcycling's grade profile on Waipio Valley Road has it maxing out at an incline of 24.6%.  That would make that 25% sign surprisingly accurate and probably kills the conjecture about spots with 45%.

https://pjammcycling.com/climb/1170.Waipio-Road

FWIW when I was at the two overlook a modern 2WD Tacoma was driving up the grade and let out by the county guy at the closure gate.

pderocco

Wow. It looks like that's the only road down into that valley.

Google Earth reports slope based on USGS data, which is worthless for this because it's resolution is too low. I think the PJ site uses the same data. You can tell more from Google Earth when 3D Buildings is available in an area, because the altitude shown at the cursor is very accurate, at least relative to nearby points. But there's not even any GSV let alone 3D Buildings on this road.

There are a bunch of roads in L.A., S.F. and Pittsburg that have slopes over 30%, so it wouldn't surprise me if this had some bits that reached 45%. But those urban streets are only a block or two long while this is 2/3 of a mile. They do an annual Fargo Street Hill Climb competition in L.A. every year, and quite a few cyclists manage it multiple times, but I doubt anyone can go up this in a continuous run without touching foot to ground. Hell, I'd be terrified to go down it.

Max Rockatansky

#39
Eh, I'm skeptical about this 45% claim.  Those cyclist guys use inclinometers in their videos (a feature you now need to be a subscriber to see).  I'm finding a lot of signed gradient claims even here in California are greatly exaggerated. 

Observe what they have for the signed 26% segment of Sonora Pass:

https://pjammcycling.com/climb/166.Sonora%2520Pass%2520West

And for claimed 24% Ebbetts Pass:

https://pjammcycling.com/climb/464.Ebbetts%2520Pass%2520East

Interestingly Old Priest Grade is way more haggard pound for pound than the two state highways:

https://pjammcycling.com/climb/378.Old%2520Priest%2520Grade

No doubt Waipio Valley is a challenge.  That said, it looks obtainable with some planning and the right vehicle.  While AWD and lockers would be ideal, I don't think they would be necessary (especially in dry weather).  A modern vehicle with a powerful engine, proper low gear selection (an increasingly rare item) and four wheel disc probably ought to be enough.  I have one such car at home I think could do this, my rental maybe (a Jeep Grand Cherokee with 4WD).  The unpaved roads at the bottom reportedly all are high clearance.

Of course the unknown factor given this is a one lane road is what other vehicles would be coming.  That could certainly make a fairly clean run way more dicey than it otherwise would be.  With Old Priest Grade I was caught once behind a BMW driver who rode his brakes all the way down.  That smell coming from the brake system was horrid by the time that car got to the bottom of the grade at CA 120. 

https://flic.kr/p/2nzZbe4

Max Rockatansky

#40
Something I noticed in my research I thought was interesting.  The 1963-1995 USGS maps of Hilo show a Hawaii County Route 123 (possibly Hawaii Route 123?) on Puainako Street west of Hawaii Route 11 to Komohana Street.  This of course is now part of Hawaii Route 2000, but also probably goes a long way to explain why this segment is so substandard compared to the rest of the highway.

Max Rockatansky

For some reason HI 15 and HI 151 are still signed in Pahala at the intersection of Maile Street and Pikake Street.  The signage used to be embossed (which is captured on Oscar's site) but some agency has put up modern Hawaii Route shields:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/urwXK4etk7b4abpr7

Interesting aside, it turns out Maile Street was once part of Mamalahoa Highway prior to the Hawaii Route System being established on the Big Island.  I suspect that was why Hawaii Route 15 was signed in the first place given Mamalahoa Highway had already bypassed Pahala by 1955. 

Max Rockatansky


Max Rockatansky


Max Rockatansky




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