Interstate H-3
John A. Burns Freeway | ||
H-3 highlighted in red | ||
Route information | ||
Maintained by HDOT | ||
Length | 15.32 mi[1] (24.66 km) | |
Existed | December 12, 1997–present | |
NHS | Entire route | |
Major junctions | ||
West end | ![]() | |
![]() | ||
East end | Marine Corps Base Hawaii main gate | |
Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Hawaii | |
Counties | Honolulu | |
Highway system | ||
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Interstate H-3 (H-3) is an
Despite the number, signage is that of an east–west highway. Its western terminus is at an interchange with H-1 at Halawa near Pearl Harbor. Its eastern end is at the main gate of Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH). This route satisfies the national defense purpose of connecting MCBH with the US Navy port at Pearl Harbor off H-1.
Orders for the freeway were granted in 1960, followed by planning stages. Construction, amid enormous community protest, was begun in the late 1980s, although the road did not open until December 12, 1997. Environmental complaints and legal challenges halted construction at many points. Construction resumed during the late 1980s after a move by US Senator Daniel Inouye, who, in 1986, had the freeway exempted from most environmental laws[2] as a rider on a Department of Defense budget bill.[3][4]
H-3 was the most expensive Interstate Highway ever built, on a cost-per-mile basis.[5] Its final cost was $1.3 billion (equivalent to $2.29 billion in 2023[6]), or approximately $80 million per mile ($50 million/km; equivalent to $141 million per mile [$88 million/km] in 2023[6]).[7]
Route description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/H3_viaduct_Halawa.jpg/170px-H3_viaduct_Halawa.jpg)
H-3 begins northwest of Downtown Honolulu at the Halawa Interchange with H-1 and auxiliary route H-201. The interchange is adjacent to Aloha Stadium and northeast of Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, which includes Pearl Harbor National Memorial.[7] H-3 has direct access to H-1, which continues south to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and west toward Pearl City, and an onramp from the Aloha Stadium parking lot.[8] The freeway travels east along Hālawa Stream and parallel to H-201, which it intersects near Salt Lake. H-3 then turns northeast and heads toward Koʻolau Range by following Hālawa Valley.[9]
The freeway then runs on
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/H-3_Viaducts.jpg/220px-H-3_Viaducts.jpg)
A set of Interstate Highways on Oʻahu were approved for funding by the US Congress in 1960, a year after Hawaii was admitted as a state. A corridor connecting the
Since its inception, the H-3 freeway has been mired in controversy. The original route was not set to be in current Hālawa Valley, but rather, the nearest major valley due east, in the Moanalua ahupuaʻa. The Damon family hurried to create the Moanalua Gardens Foundation in 1970 to join the forces of all political and cultural groups who opposed the freeway's construction through their tract of land.[citation needed] The foundation's pinnacle no-build argument was the need to remove a significant historical stone containing ancient petroglyphs, Pohaku ka Luahine, which, to this day, stands intact along the Moanalua valley trail. Success came their way as this freeway route was dropped, but H-3 would merely be rerouted.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/2021-10-06_17_13_33_View_east_along_Interstate_H-3_%28John_A._Burns_Freeway%29_at_the_exit_for_Interstate_H-201_EAST_%28Honolulu%29_in_Halawa%2C_Oahu%2C_Hawaii.jpg/220px-2021-10-06_17_13_33_View_east_along_Interstate_H-3_%28John_A._Burns_Freeway%29_at_the_exit_for_Interstate_H-201_EAST_%28Honolulu%29_in_Halawa%2C_Oahu%2C_Hawaii.jpg)
Ongoing environmental concerns include weed encroachment, light pollution, asbestos pollution, water and streamlife problems, and a host of other concerns; among these are the ongoing decline of native owls called pueo and other native birds. For example, the Oʻahu ʻalauahio (Paroreomyza maculata), whose last known home was Halawa, has had no sightings since H-3 construction was completed.[12][18]
Some longtime residents of
Conversely, this road is considered an engineering wonder by its admirers. It is often compared to various cinematic landscapes in Star Wars and other movies, and it does sometimes reduce travel time for cross-island commuters, which has allowed for increased real estate development and prices in windward Oʻahu.
One anecdote relates to the elevated section passing through
In September 2020, a section of the H-3 freeway (the
Exit list
The entire route is in Honolulu County.
Location | mi[20] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aiea | 0.00 | 0.00 | — | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Exit 13 on H-1 |
1A | ![]() ![]() | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
0.13 | 0.21 | 1B | ![]() ![]() Honolulu | No westbound entrance; no number designation on eastbound exit; exit 1C on H-201 | |
0.51 | 0.82 | 1C | Route 7241 | ||
Ko'olau Range | Tetsuo Harano Tunnels, Hospital Rock Tunnels | ||||
Kaneohe | 8.23 | 13.24 | 9 | ![]() ![]() | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
9.91 | 15.95 | 11 | ![]() Route 83 (Kamehameha Highway) – Kaneohe, North Shore | ||
12.30 | 19.79 | 14 | ![]() Route 65 | ||
13.83 | 22.26 | 15 | Kaneohe Bay Drive | ||
– | Kaneohe MCBH | Continuation beyond Kaneohe Bay Drive | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
References
- ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ Hamasaki, Mark; Landgraf, Anne Kapulani (2015). Ē luku wale ē = Devastation upon devastation. Honolulu: Ai Pōhaku Press in association with Native Hawaiian Education Association.
- ^ "Senate Amendment 3116 to House Joint Resolution 738, 99th Congress". United States Congress. October 2, 1986. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- United States Government Printing Office. October 15, 1986. pp. 783–784. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Internet Archive.
- OCLC 1152948489. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Google Books.
- ^ Gross Domestic Product deflatorfigures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ a b Yuen, Mike (December 3, 1997). "H-3, Open Road: After decades of controversy, the 16.1-mile highway will soon open for business". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. A1. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Google (November 24, 2021). "Interstate H-3" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ Weingroff, Richard. "Interstates in Hawaii: ARE WE CRAZY???". Ask the Rambler. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Archaeological Projects Conducted by Bishop Museum for the Hawaiʻi State Department of Transportation and Federal Highways Administration for Interstate Route H-3". Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ Trask, Haunani-Kay. "Stop H-3 Freeway sit-down protest, 1990s". Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ "H-3 Reports and Archives". Halawa-Luluku Interpretive Development Project. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- S2CID 162196377. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 29, 2004.
- ^ Omandam, Pat (May 9, 1997). "Two points of view converge: Is H-3 trek a desecration or a celebration of the breathtaking beauty of Hawaii?". Hawaii Star-Bulletin.
- ^ Omandam, Pat (December 4, 1997). "Even with the opening at hand, many Hawaiians say protests may not end". Hawaii Star-Bulletin.
- ^ Melgar, Christian (2002). "Hawai'i's Endemic Forest Birds: Distribution, Status & Population Updates 2002". Birding Hawaii. Archived from the original on February 10, 2005.
- ^ "State will shut down H-3 for two days; freeway will serve as COVID testing site". KHON. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- ^ Street Atlas USA (Map). DeLorme. 2007. Toggle Measure Tool.
External links
Media related to Interstate H-3 at Wikimedia Commons
- H-3: The Island Interstate (1993)
- Dunford, Bruce (July 16, 1995). "Hawaii Freeway 25 Years Overdue as Costs Spin Out of Control". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020.