Interstate H-1

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Interstate H-1 marker
Interstate H-1
Queen Lili'uokalani Freeway
H-1 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by HDOT
Length27.16 mi[1] (43.71 km)
Existed1960–present
HistoryCompleted in 1986
Major junctions
West end Route 93 in Kapolei
Major intersections H-2 in Pearl City
H-3 / H-201 / Route 78 in Halawa
East end Route 72 in Honolulu
Location
CountiesHonolulu
Highway system

Routes in Hawaii

Route 8930 H-2

Interstate H-1 (abbreviated H-1) is the longest and busiest Interstate Highway in the US state of Hawaii. The highway is located on the island of O‘ahu. Despite the number, this is an east–west highway; the 'H'-series (for Hawaii) numbering reflects the order in which routes were funded and built. H-1 goes from Route 93 (Farrington Highway) in Kapolei to Route 72 (Kalanianaole Highway) in Kāhala. East of Middle Street in Honolulu (exit 19A), H-1 is also known as the Lunalilo Freeway and is sometimes signed as such at older signs in central Honolulu. West of Middle Street, H-1 is also known as the Queen Liliʻuokalani Freeway; this name is shown on some roadmaps. It is both the southernmost and westernmost signed Interstate Highway in the United States.

Route description[]

Aerial view of H-1 (looking east) from Honolulu Airport heading into downtown Honolulu

Interstate H-1 begins near the Campbell Industrial Park in the town of Kapolei, Hawaii. West of this point, Hawaii State Route 93 (Farrington Highway) continues toward Waianae. The freeway continues east, passing the community of Makakilo until reaching the junction with SR 750 (north to Kunia) and SR 76 (south to Ewa Beach).[2]

H-1 then continues along the northern edge of Waipahu approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) until its junction with Interstate H-2. It then continues east through the towns of Pearl City and Aiea for approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) to the complex Halawa Interchange, where it meets Interstates H-3 and H-201. The highway then turns south for two miles (3 km), then east soon after the exits for Hickam Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor. At this point, the highway runs along a viaduct above State Route 92 (Nimitz Highway), passing to the north of Honolulu International Airport.[2]

H-1 westbound viewed from Ward Avenue near downtown Honolulu

Two miles past the airport exit, three lanes exit the freeway at exit 18A to join Nimitz Highway toward Waikiki, while half a mile later the remaining two lanes make a sharp turn south as H-1 reaches another major interchange with the east end of Interstate H-201. Access is provided by a left exit from H-1 east only. H-1 west does not have access to H-201 at this point.

From here H-1 runs through the city of Honolulu along a series of underpasses and viaducts. A flyover interchange leading to downtown Honolulu has a westbound exit and an eastbound entrance. H-1 ends in the Kahala district of Honolulu near Kahala Mall, where State Route 72 (Kalanianaole Highway) ends.

During morning commute hours on weekdays, an eastbound contraflow express lane is deployed from just west of exit 7 to exit 18A, where it connects to the beginning of the Nimitz Highway contraflow lane. The H-1 contraflow lane is often referred to as a "zipper lane" due to the use of a movable concrete barrier and a zipper machine. The H-1 and Nimitz Highway contraflow lanes are restricted to buses, motorcycles, and vehicles with two or more occupants while in operation.

History[]

A 1965 photo of the H-1 under construction, looking eastbound, ending at Harding and Kapahulu Avenues.[3]

A set of Interstate Highways serving O‘ahu were authortized by the federal government in 1960, a year after Hawaii was admitted as a state. One of the corridors, connecting Barbers Point to Diamond Head, was designated as Interstate H-1 by the Bureau of Public Roads (now the Federal Highway Administration) on August 29, 1960.[4][5] The portion of H-1 that runs through downtown Honolulu had opened in 1953 as the Mauka Arterial and was incorporated into the new freeway. This section has been largely unchanged since its inception and its design suffers from having too many on/off ramps, short distanced on-ramps, and on-ramps that enter the freeway almost immediately before an off-ramp (opposite of current design standards). The 'new' section of H-1 was, however, built to modern freeway standards.[citation needed]

Construction on the first new section of H-1 began in 1963, shortly after alignments were approved for most of the freeway.[6] The Lunalilo Freeway, already planned by the state government and funded with a 50 percent match from the federal government, was incorporated into plans for H-1 in 1965 following the rejection of five other proposed routings.[7][8] The westernmost section of H-1 in Makakilo opened on September 29, 1966.[9] The Kapiolani Interchange, opened in October 1967, filled a gap between two sections of the Lunalilo Freeway spanning 3 miles (4.8 km) in Honolulu.[10][11] Another gap in H-1 was filled in March 1969 with the opening of 3 miles (4.8 km) between Kunia Road (Route 76) and the Waiawa Interchange with H-2.[12]

The Hawaiian Interstate shields have gone through several changes. Early shields contained the hyphen as per the official designation (e.g. H-1); however, these shields have been updated with the hyphen removed (e.g. H1). As in other states across the contiguous United States, early interstate shields also included the writing of 'Hawaii' above the interstate route number and below the 'Interstate' writing.[13] While the "Queen Liliuokalani" section of the Interstate H-1 has signs designating it as such (one eastbound at exit 1, the other westbound after exit 19), there are no similar name signs for the Lunalilo Freeway portion (the remainder of the freeway).[14]

Interstate H-4[]

Interstate 4 marker

Interstate 4

LocationHonolulu
Length6.5 mi (10.5 km)

In the 1960s a fourth freeway that would have been Interstate H-4 (H-4), was proposed for the city of Honolulu. The intent of H-4 was to provide relief to the congested H-1 through downtown Honolulu. Had it been built, the 6.5-mile-long (10.5 km) route of H-4 would have started at exit 18 (H-1/Nimitz Highway interchange) and followed the Honolulu waterfront to the Kapiolani interchange (exit 25B).[15] The idea, however, was unpopular and the freeway was never built.[14]

Exit list[]

The entire route is in Honolulu County.

Locationmi[16]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Kapolei0.000.00 Farrington Highway (Route 93 west)Continuation beyond western terminus
1ACampbell Industrial Park, Barbers Point Harbor (Route 95)Signed as exit 1 westbound
1.121.801BWakea StreetNo westbound entrance; signed as exit 1D westbound
1.121.801EFarrington HighwayWestbound exit only
2.213.562Makakilo, Kapolei, Kalaeloa (Route 901)No eastbound exit
3 Kualakai Parkway (Route 8930) – Kapolei, EwaFormerly North–South Road[17]
Waipahu6.4910.445 Route 76 south / Route 750 north – Kunia, Waipahu, EwaNorthern terminus of Route 76; southern terminus of Route 750; signed as exits 5A (south) and 5B (north) westbound
8.2013.207Waikele, Waipahu
9.4015.138A Farrington Highway (Route 7101 west) – WaipahuNo westbound entrance; eastern terminus of Route 7101
Kamehameha Highway (Route 99 east) – Pearl CityEastbound exit and westbound entrance
9.7415.688B H-2 north – Mililani, WahiawaEastbound signage; southern terminus of H-2; signed as exit 8A westbound
Farrington Highway (Route 7101 west) / Kamehameha Highway (Route 99 north) – Waipahu, WaipioWestbound signage
8C Kamehameha Highway (Route 99 north) – WaipioNo westbound entrance
Waimalu11.6218.7010Waimalu, Pearlridge, Pearl City
Halawa14.2022.8513A
H-3 east to Route 78 east (H-201) – Kaneohe, Honolulu
Route 78 west – Aiea, Honolulu, Pearlridge
H-3 not signed westbound; western terminus of H-3
14.6123.5113BHalawa Heights, Stadium (H-201)Eastbound signage; western terminus of H-201

H-3 east to Route 78 east (H-201) – Kaneohe, Honolulu
Westbound signage
Honolulu16.6526.8015A Kamehameha Highway (Route 99 west) – Arizona Memorial, Aloha StadiumWestbound exit and eastbound entrance; eastern terminus of Route 99
16.8527.1215B Nimitz Highway (Route 92) – Joint Base Pearl Harbor–HickamSigned as exit 15 eastbound
17.7728.6016 Airport
Aolele Street, Paiea StreetNo westbound exit
19.12–
19.60
30.77–
31.54
18A Nimitz Highway (Route 92) – WaikikiSigned as exit 18 westbound; eastern terminus of Route 92
19.3431.1218BDillingham Boulevard, Middle Street (Route 7415)Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
20.3632.7719AMiddle Street (Route 7415)Westbound exit only
19B H-201 west (Route 78) – Fort Shafter, AieaWestbound left exit and eastbound left entrance; eastern terminus of H-201/Route 78
20.5633.0920A Likelike Highway (Route 63 north)Southern terminus of Route 63
20BHoughtailing StreetWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
20.8033.47 Vineyard Boulevard (Route 98 east)Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; western terminus of Route 98
21.3534.3620CPalama StreetWestbound exit only
22.3135.9021ASchool StreetWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Pali Highway (Route 61)Signed as exit 21B westbound
22.7736.6421BPunchbowl StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
22 Vineyard Boulevard (Route 98 west)Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; eastern terminus of Route 98
23.1037.18Kinau Street - WaikikiEastbound exit and entrance
23Lunalilo StreetNo eastbound exit
24.0638.72Punahou Street – Manoa, WaikikiEastbound exit and westbound entrance
25.0740.3524ABingham StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
Wilder AvenueWestbound exit only
25.3040.7224BUniversity AvenueAccess to University of Hawaii at Manoa
25.6241.2325AKing Street – Waikiki, Honolulu Zoo
25BKapiolani BoulevardWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
26.1042.006th AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
26.8343.1826AKoko Head AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
27.5344.3126BWaialae AvenueSigned as exit 26 westbound
28.1645.3227Kilauea AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Kalanianaole Highway (Route 72 east) / Waikui Street east / Ainakoa Avenue northAt-grade intersection; highway continues east as Route 72
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Incomplete access

Auxiliary routes[]

  • A portion of the Moanalua Freeway is designated as Interstate H-201. Until mid-2004, it was signed as Route 78.

References[]

  1. ^ Adderly, Kevin (December 31, 2014). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2014". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed December 2007 via ACME Mapper
  3. ^ Watanabe, June. "Kokua Line". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  4. ^ Weingroff, Richard. "Interstates in Hawaii: ARE WE CRAZY???". Ask the Rambler. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "Freeways To Be Extended". The Honolulu Advertiser. June 19, 1960. p. 39. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "H-1 Part Of Defense Super Trio". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 20, 1963. p. A12. Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "U.S. Names Lunalilo H-1; State To Recoup $23 Million". The Honolulu Advertiser. United Press International. February 12, 1965. p. A1. Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Buchwach, Buck (January 7, 1964). "State To ask Lunalilo Freeway as H-1 Route Through Honolulu". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. A1. Retrieved November 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Ceremony Opens Strip Of New Isle Freeway". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 29, 1966. p. A18. Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Interchange speeds cars into usual town jam-ups". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. October 27, 1967. p. A4. Retrieved November 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "By Land, Sea an Air: Putting the Roads on the Show". The Honolulu Advertiser. February 20, 1968. sec. IV, p. 13. Retrieved November 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Another Stretch of Freeway Opens". The Honolulu Advertiser. March 20, 1969. p. D18. Retrieved November 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Voss, Oscar (June 2006). "Hawaii Road Sign Photos (Page 2 of 3)". Hawaii Highways. Retrieved May 25, 2015.[self-published source]
  14. ^ a b "Interstate H-1". Interstate-Guide. Retrieved November 24, 2010.[self-published source]
  15. ^ Proposed Route H-4, Interstate and Defense Highway System Extension (PDF) (Report). State of Highway Department of Transportation. October 1968. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  16. ^ DeLorme (2007). Street Atlas USA (Map). DeLorme. Toggle Measure Tool.
  17. ^ Hawaii Department of Transportation (February 11, 2010). "North–South Road Completed, New Name Unveiled" (Press release). Hawaii Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012.

External links[]

Route map:

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