Was Interstate H3 a really good idea or a bad one?

[Lytton]

You know. I've been kind of thinking this. I don't know if the H3 has any other purpose other than providing a direct connection to MCBH (Marine Corps Base Hawaii). I'm pretty sure that there was already two tunnels to Kaneohe and Kailua before H3 was built and opened. I don't get it. Pali Highway and Likelike Highway can do their jobs.

So, how about you guys? Do you think H3 was all a waste of money or actually had some purpose behind it? Discuss.

[agentsteel53]

I'll bet it has military importance, and the system is known as the Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways...

[vdeane]

You know. I've been kind of thinking this. I don't know if the H3 has any other purpose other than providing a direct connection to MCBH (Marine Corps Base Hawaii). I'm pretty sure that there was already two tunnels to Kaneohe and Kailua before H3 was built and opened. I don't get it. Pali Highway and Likelike Highway can do their jobs.

That is considered a valid reason for building an interstate.

[Alps]

Based on traffic I've witnessed on those routes, I think a third crossing was justifiable, especially given the potential for foggy conditions at the top (and the ever-present threat of rain). The more alternate routes across, the better, and H-3 is the most scenic of all of them with its long viaducts over the pristine hillsides.

[oscar]

I'll bet it has military importance, and the system is known as the Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways...

Yup.  The difficulty of moving troops cross-island was driving the military nuts during the Vietnam War, making that a driving force behind planning for H-3.  Of course, it took about a quarter-century after the war was over before H-3 was completed, but inertia works as well in Hawaii as on the mainland. 

H-3 does come in handy as an alternate crossing, should one of the other tunnels be closed for cleaning/maintenance or some other reason.  It also bypasses downtown Honolulu, where the hopelessly underpowered H-1 is usually a mess. 

[Brandon]

Having driven it, I'd say I-H3 was a very good idea.  It provides a free-flowing connection between the two sides of a very congested (even by mainland standards) island in addition to the highway around the SE point and the two existing tunnels (both of which are surface streets).

[Henry]

I'll bet it has military importance, and the system is known as the Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways...

Yup.  The difficulty of moving troops cross-island was driving the military nuts during the Vietnam War, making that a driving force behind planning for H-3.  Of course, it took about a quarter-century after the war was over before H-3 was completed, but inertia works as well in Hawaii as on the mainland. 

H-3 does come in handy as an alternate crossing, should one of the other tunnels be closed for cleaning/maintenance or some other reason.  It also bypasses downtown Honolulu, where the hopelessly underpowered H-1 is usually a mess. 

Having driven it, I'd say I-H3 was a very good idea.  It provides a free-flowing connection between the two sides of a very congested (even by mainland standards) island in addition to the highway around the SE point and the two existing tunnels (both of which are surface streets).

I concur on that. In addition, as it's possible to get from Honolulu to the USMC base without ever having to stop anywhere, that alone makes H3 a very well-conceived idea.

[xonhulu]

The better question might be if H3 was worth the big price tag it eventually racked up -- after all, that what was controversial about it back then. 

I'd probably still answer "yes," especially in the comparative realm of defense spending, as that was a lot of the reason for its construction.

[mc78andrew]

And with North Korea as the loudest member of the axis of evil still standing you cannot underspend on pacific island defense.

[Brandon]

And with North Korea being the only one of the axis of evil still standing you cannot underspend on island defense.

Even without it, Hawai'i is an island chain in the middle of the north Pacific Ocean.  This was not lost on the Japanese prior to Pearl Harbor, nor on the Americans when they built the bases there in the first place.  And I sincerely doubt it is lost on the Chinese today.  Hawai'i can control a huge area of the Pacific just by being there.  Hence why infrastructure like I-H3 is very necessary to Oahu in a military and geopolitical sense.

[agentsteel53]

And with North Korea as the loudest member of the axis of evil still standing you cannot underspend on pacific island defense.

yes, you can.  it's North Korea.  like Cuba, only farther away.