Interstate H-201

Interstate H-201
Moanalua Freeway
Route information
Maintained by HDOT
Length:	4.6 mi[1] (7.4 km)
Existed:	1989 – present
History:	Signed in 2004
Major junctions
West end:	Route 99 in Aiea
	H-1 / H-3 in Hālawa
East end:	H-1 in Honolulu
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Routes in Hawaii ← Route 200 Route 220 →

Interstate H-201 (H-201) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway located on the island of O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The H-201 is also known as the Moanalua Freeway. The 4-mile (6.4 km) loop route connects exits 13 and 19 on Interstate H-1, passing Fort Shafter, Tripler Army Medical Center, and Red Hill.

Despite being designated an Interstate in 1989, until recently the route was a hidden Interstate signed only as Route 78. Interstate signs started appearing in mid-2004. The section of the Moanalua Freeway between Route 99 (Kamehameha Highway) and the western Interstate H-1 interchange remains designated as Route 78. Because this roadway was formerly an unsigned Interstate designation, it was commonly thought to be the only segment of freeway in Hawaii to not have an Interstate designation.

History

Letters in H-201 shields require thinner text, such as on signage like this one.

The length of H-201 was originally designated as Route 78.^[2]

The Federal Highway Administration approved the addition of Interstate H-201 to the Interstate Highway System on November 1, 1989. The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation asked that the Moanalua Freeway be reclassified as an Interstate so that the interchange with H-1 at the eastern end could conform to federal highway standards. The highway was initially designated H-1A, but federal highway policy does not allow alphabetic suffixes in Interstate numbers. The final designation, H-201, conforms to the general rules for three-digit Interstate "loop" routes.

Until 2004, the state Department of Transportation chose not to sign H-201 as such, instead retaining the designation Route 78. Reasons given included the following:

• inability to render the new route number in a legible manner (it is necessary to use the thinnest font to render the number, as seen above, and the shield is wider than the standard interstate shield)
• encouraging motorists to use the newer and better designed H-1
• avoiding confusion with Interstate H-2

In July 2004, in conjunction with a major resurfacing of both sides of the freeway, it was decided to bring the signage in line with the official designation.

Exit list

The entire route is in Honolulu County.

Location	Mile	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Aiea	0.0	0.0	—	Route 99 – Pearl City, Aloha Stadium, Pearlridge
Halawa	0.5	0.8	1A	H-1 – Honolulu International Airport, Pearl Harbor, Pearl City
	0.9	1.4	1B	Kahuapaani Street - Halawa, Camp Smith	Signed as exit 1E westbound
	1.4	2.3	1C	H-3 east – Kaneohe	Signed as exit 1D westbound
Honolulu	2.4	3.9	2	Moanalua Valley, Salt Lake, Aiea
	3.7	6.0	3	Route 7310 (Puuloa Road) / Jarett White Road – Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu International Airport
	4.5	7.2	4	Ahua Street – Fort Shafter	No number designation on exit
	4.6	7.4	—	H-1 east – Honolulu	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• Interstate H-1

References

External links

• Photos of Interstate H-201
• Exit list for Interstate H-201