Interstate H-1

Interstate H-1
Queen Lili'uokalani Freeway
Route information
Maintained by HDOT
Length: 27.16 mi[1] (43.71 km)
Existed: 1953-1959; completed in 1986 – present
Major junctions
West end: Route 93 in Kapolei
  H-2 in Pearl City
H-201 in Aiea
H-3 in Halawa
East end: Route 72 in Honolulu, HI
Highway system

Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

Routes in Hawaii

Interstate H-1 (abbreviated H-1) is the busiest Interstate Highway in Hawaii, United States, 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 the westernmost and southernmost Interstate Highway in the United States.

Contents

Route description

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]

Two miles past the airport exit, three lanes exit the freeway at exit 18A to join Nimitz Highway toward Waikiki, while the remaining two lanes make an S-curve to join the east end of Interstate H-201. From here H-1 runs through the city of Honolulu along a series of underpasses and viaducts. H-1 ends in the Kahala district of Honolulu near Kahala Mall, where state route 72 (Kalanianaole Highway) ends.

H-1 has a maximum posted speed limit of 60 mph (100 km/h) west of the Kunia-Ewa-Waipahu interchange; a 55 mph (90 km/h) speed limit for the remaining section running to the airport, and a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed limit on the Lunalilo freeway section that runs within the Honolulu area, with a few 45 mph (73 km/h) sections.

During morning commute hours on weekdays, an eastbound contraflow express lane is deployed from just west of the Waikele/Waipahu exit in Waipahu 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 three or more occupants while in operation.

History

Interstate H-1 was authorized as a result of the Statehood Act of 1960.[4] The portion of H-1 that runs through downtown Honolulu opened in 1953 as the Mauka Arterial; it was added to the Interstate system when Hawaii became a state. 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.

The Hawaiian Interstate shields have gone through numerous 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). Other early interstate shields included the writing of 'Hawaii' above the interstate route number and below the 'Interstate' writing.[5] 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).[4]

Interstate H-4

In the 1960s a fourth freeway, which would have been Interstate 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 H-4 would have started at Exit 18 (H-1/Nimitz Highway interchange) and followed the Honolulu waterfront to the Kapiolani interchange (Exit 25B). The idea, however, was unpopular and the freeway was never built.[4]

Exit list

The entire route is in Honolulu County.

Location Mile[6] Exit Destinations Notes
Kapolei 0.00 Route 93 west (Farrington Highway) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; west end of H-1
1.12 1A Campbell Industrial Park, Barbers Point Harbor (Route 95) Signed as exit 1 westbound
1.18 1B Makakilo, Kapolei, Kalaeloa Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
2.21 2 Makakilo, Kapolei, Kalaeloa (Route 901) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
3 Kapolei, Ewa Formerly North-South Road [7], now designated Route 8390.
Waipahu 6.49 5 Route 76 south / Route 750 north – Kunia, Waipahu, Ewa Signed as exits 5A (south) and 5B (north) westbound
8.20 7 Waikele, Waipahu
9.40 8 Route 99 north (Kamehameha Highway) – Waipahu, Pearl City Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 8A (south) and 8C (north)
9.74 8B H-2 north – Mililani, Wahiawa Signed as exit 8A westbound
8B Waipahu (Route 7101) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Pearl City 11.62 10 Pearlridge, Pearl City, Waimalu
Halawa 14.20 13A Route 78 west – Aiea, Pearlridge
14.61 13B H-3 east / H-201 east – Kaneohe, Honolulu Signed as 13A eastbound
13B Halawa Heights, Aloha Stadium (Route 7241) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Honolulu 16.65 15A Route 99 west – Arizona Memorial, Aloha Stadium Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
16.85 15B Route 92 west – Hickam AFB, Pearl Harbor Signed as 15 eastbound
16.06 15 Route 92 east (Nimitz Highway) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
17.77 16 Honolulu International Airport
19.60 18 Route 92 west (Nimitz Highway) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
19.12 18A Route 92 east (Nimitz Highway) – Waikiki Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
19.34 18B Dillingham Boulevard, Middle Street (Route 7415) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
20.36 19A Middle Street (Route 7415) Westbound exit only
20.36 19B H-201 west – Fort Shafter, Aiea Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
20.56 20A Route 63 north (Likelike Highway)
20B Houghtailing Street Westbound exit only
20.80 20B Route 98 east (Vineyard Boulevard) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
21.35 20C Palama Street Westbound exit only
21A School Street Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
22.31 21A Route 61 (Pali Highway) Signed as exit 21B westbound
22.77 21B Punchbowl Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
22 Route 98 west (Vineyard Boulevard) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
23.10 22 Kinau Street Eastbound exit and entrance
23 Lunalilo Street No eastbound exit
24.06 23 Punahou Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
25.07 24A Bingham Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
24A Wilder Avenue Westbound exit only
25.30 24B University Avenue
25.62 25A King Street - Waikiki, Honolulu Zoo
25B Kapiolani Boulevard Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
26.10 25B 6th Avenue Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
26.83 26A Koko Head Avenue Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
27.53 26B Waialae Avenue Signed as exit 26 westbound
28.16 27 Kilauea Avenue Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Route 72 east (Kalanianaole Highway) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of H-1

Auxiliary routes

References

  1. ^ Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
  2. ^ a b Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed December 2007 via ACME Mapper
  3. ^ June Watanabe. "Kokua Line". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20101021_Situation_determines_where_ambulance_will_bring_patient.html. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c "Interstate-Guide: Interstate H-1". http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-h-001.html. Retrieved 24 November 2010. 
  5. ^ http://www.hawaiihighways.com/hawaii-road-signs-page2.htm
  6. ^ DeLorme (2007). Street Atlas USA (Map) (Toggle Measure Tool ed.). 
  7. ^ http://hawaii.gov/dot/news/north-south-road-completed-new-name-unveiled

External links

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