Skip to main content

Maui County Route 390

By


Maui County Route 390 is a 12.1-mile highway which exists on the Island of Maui.  Maui County Route 390 connects the communities of Paia, Makawao and Olinda via Baldwin Avenue and Olinda Road.  Maui County Route 390 was originally assigned as Hawaii Route 39 when the 1955 Hawaii Route System was established.  


Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 39 and Maui County Route 390

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.

Hawaii Route 39 was aligned from Paia to Makawao via 7 miles of Baldwin Avenue and 5.1 miles of Olinda Road to Olinda.  Hawaii Route 39 can be seen on the 1959 Gousha Highway Map of Hawaii.  

The southern terminus of Hawaii Route 39 in Olinda is shown on the 1957 United States Geological Survey Map of Kilohana to end at the Kailua Gulch Jeep Trail near Olinda Prison Camp.  The Kailua Gulch Trail is shown to connect Hawaii Route 39 to Hawaii Route 378/Haleakala Highway near the boundary to Haleakala annex of Hawaii Volcanos National Park.  


Hawaii Route 39 seems primarily to have existed to service Olinda Prison Camp.  Olinda Prison Camp was in operation from 1926 until it shuttered during 1973.  Reportedly Olinda Prison Camp had a declining inmate population and difficulties keeping staffing in a remote location on Haleakala's northern flank.  According to hawaiihighways.com, the Hawaii Department of Transportation once considered upgrading the Kailau Gulch Jeep Trail as part of Hawaii Route 39 during the 1960s but had abandoned the idea by no later than 1967.  According to hawaiihighways.com, Maui County Route 390 appears on a 1976 Maui County planning map and the 1981 Maui County Route log.  


Part 2; scenes around Maui County Route 390

Maui County Route 390 begins in Paia via Baldwin Avenue south from Hawaii Route 36/Hana Highway.  No Maui County Route 390 signage appears on Hawaii Route 36 in Paia approaching Baldwin Avenue.  Paia was founded in 1880 as the site of a Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar mill and siding of the Kahului Railroad.



Maui County Route 390 signage can be found along Maui County Route 365 in Makawao.  Maui County Route 365 serves as the point where Maui County Route 390 transitions from Baldwin Avenue to Olinda Road.  


Maui County Route 390 follows Olinda Road to a southern terminus near the site of the former Olinda Prison Camp.  An oddly misshapen Hawaii Route 39 shield was once present (and might still be) as recently as 2011 (according to Google Street View).


From Hawaii Route 378/Haleakala the Kailau Gulch Jeep Trail can still be identified (behind the pylons) near the Haleakala National Park boundary.  It isn't clear if the Kailau Gulch Jeep Trail can still be used to reach Maui County Route 390.  


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more