Skip to main content

Hawaii Route 36A to Kahului Airport

By


Hawaii Route 36A is an approximately half mile State Highway located on the Island of Maui in the community of Kahului.  Hawaii Route 36A exists on a disconnected portion of Haleakala Highway west of Dairy Road and Keolani Place to the vicinity of Palapala Drive.  Hawaii Route 36A prior to the completion of Hawaii Route 3800 during 2016 was the primary access road to Kahului Airport.  Despite what the route number of Hawaii Route 36A may imply it is not an alternate routing to Hawaii Route 36 nor Hana Highway.  


Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 36A

As noted in the intro part of Hawaii Route 36A exists on a disconnected segment of Haleakala Highway from Hawaii Route 36/Hana Highway to Keolani Place/Dairy Road.  The Hawaii Territory maintained portion of Haleakala Highway was completed to the boundary of Hawaii National Park (now Haleakala National Park) began to be constructed by 1929.  Haleakala Highway would be completed to the 10,023-foot summit of Red Hill atop Haleakala when the National Park Service opened their segment during 1935.  


Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Oahu on December 7, 1941, the military presence in Hawaii Territory was immediately bolstered.  Although the main influx of military activity in Hawaii Territory was centered around Oahu there also was a military presence on Maui.  During 1942 construction of Naval Air Station Kahului began and established many roads around the facility.  It is likely that what is now Keolani Place was constructed as part of Naval Air Station Kahului. 

Following the conclusion of World War II, Naval Air Station Kahului was turned over to the Hawaii Aeronautics Commission.  The facility was converted to civilian usage and reopened during June 1952 as Kahului Airport.   Haleakala Highway east from Hana Highway to Dairy Drive and Keolani Place can be seen on the 1954 United States Geological Survey connecting as the primary access roadway to Kahului Airport.  

The Island of Maui seemingly was not part of the original World War II era Hawaii Route System.  Circa 1955 the United States Bureau of Public Roads renumbered the Hawaii Route System.  The 1955 Hawaii Route Renumbering saw most of the conventions utilized by the current Hawaii State Route System established.  Primary Hawaii Routes were given two-digit numbers whereas Secondary Hawaii Routes were given three-digit numbers.  The Hawaii Routes were assigned in sequence for what Island/County they were located on coupled with what Federal Aid Program number they were tied to.  In the case of the Island of Maui it was assigned numbers in the range of 30-40.  

Kahului Airport can be seen on the 1959 Gousha Map of Hawaii without a Hawaii Route directly serving it.  


According to hawaiihighways.com Keolani Place was added to the State Highway System during the 1960s as Hawaii Route 396 as it was the primary access road to Kahului Airport.  Haleakala Highway east from Hana Highway through Kahului Airport may have been signed as Hawaii Route 37 and Military Route 37.



According to hawaiihighways.com the Military Route 37 was not part of the numbered highway system on Maui by 1981.  Keolani Place appears on the 1983 United States Geological Map of Maui as part of an extended Hawaii Route 380.  West of Hawaii Route 380/Dairy Road the segment of Haleakala Highway to Hana Highway appears without a Hawaii Route number.  


Haleakala Highway through Kahului Airport appears to have been bisected by an extension of the south runway approach and replaced with Kala Road at some point during the 1990s.  The bisected Haleakala Highway through Kahului Airport appears on the 1997 United State Geological Survey Map of Maui.  The same map still displays Hawaii Route 380 following Keolani Place into Kahului Airport.  Haleakala Highway between Hana Highway east to Hawaii Route 380/Dairy Road/Keolani Place appears without a Hawaii Route number. 


It is unclear when Hawaii Route 36A was designated but it appears to have been a recent addition.  Hawaii Route 36A seems to have been designated to simplify the signed route access to Kahului Airport.  Hawaii Route 36A was designated over Haleakala Highway east from Hana Highway to Hawaii Route 380/Dairy Road.  From Dairy Road the designation of Hawaii Route 36A replaced Hawaii Route 380 on Keolani Place to Kahului Airport. 

Keolani Place and Hawaii Route 36A have recently been replaced by Hawaii Route 3800 as the primary access road to Kahului Airport.  Hawaii Route 3800 is the newest State Highway on Maui and was fully opened to traffic on July 23, 2016.  Much of Hawaii Route 3800 was originally known as Kahului Airport Access Road and assumed the current name of Mayor Elmer F. Cravalho Way effective July 1, 2017. 



Part 2; a drive on Hawaii Route 36A

From Hawaii Route 36/Hana Highway eastbound traffic is advised that Kahului Airport can be accessed by following Hawaii Route 36A onto Haleakala Highway.  



Hawaii Route 36A eastbound follows Haleakala Highway to Hawaii Route 380 at Dairy Road and makes a left hand turn onto Keolani Place.





Hawaii Route 36A eastbound follows Keolani Place to the Kahului Airport boundary where it terminates.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yes, the color of your nearby fire hydrant matters...

By
...and here's why. You will find White, Red, Yellow and Violet colored fire hydrants pretty much everywhere.  But there's a reason for this - and it's because of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  This association has issued guidelines for color coding standards for fire hydrants.  These color codes from the body of the hydrant, top of the hydrant, and in some municipalities the outlet caps are designed to allow fire fighters to know what type of system, water flow rate (Gallons Per Minute or GPM), and level of water pressure.  This guideline is known as NFPA 291 and is intended to be used universally throughout the United States. The NFPA guidelines are specific to the body and the top cap of the hydrant.  If a hydrant is WHITE or YELLOW - it means that it is connected to a public/municipal water system.  If a hydrant is RED - the hydrant is connected to a private system, typically a well.  These are most common in rural or unincorporated areas
1 comment
Read more

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

By
Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times.  While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways.  The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route."  This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it.  This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Ridge Route corridor introdution The Ridge Route as originally envisioned was a segment of highway which was completed in 1915 between the northern Los Angeles city limit
1 comment
Read more

Establishing the numbering conventions of California's chargeable Interstates

By
The Federal Highway Aid Act of 1956 brought the Interstate Highway System into existence which would largely be constructed by Federal Highway Administration fund matching.  The Interstate Highway System was deliberately numbered to run opposite the established conventions of the US Route System.  While the Interstate Highway numbering conventions are now well established there was a period during the late 1950s where they were still being finalized.  This blog examines the history of the establishing of the chargeable Interstate Highway route numbers in California.  The above blog cover depicts the Interstate Highway route numbers requested by the Division of Highways in the Los Angeles area during November 1957.  The establishment of the numbering conventions of California's chargeable Interstates The Interstate Highway System was not created in a vacuum by way of the passage of the 1956 Federal Highway Aid Act.  The beginning of the Interstate Highway System can be found in the
1 comment
Read more