Skip to main content

Hawaii County Route 148

By

Hawaii County Route 148 is a 4.8-mile highway comprising Wright Road and Amaunau Road near the community of Volcano.  The corridor was added to the State Highway System as Hawaii Route 148 during 1961.  The highway was intended to continue north of Volcano to Hawaii Route 200 at the Saddle Road but as ultimately never constructed and turned over Hawaii County in 1967.  The highway today now serves as the only road access to the Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve (which was designated in 1981).  


This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking here. 




The history of Hawaii County Route 148

Wright Road from Old Volcano Road north to Laukapu was part of the original Volcano community plot.  Volcano Village was founded in 1894 following the improvement of Mamalahoa Highway (alternatively Old Volcano Trail) between Hilo and the Kilauea caldera.  Early Volcano Village served as a stage station for travelers departing the Hilo Railroad station in Glenwood (starting in 1901).  During 1916 the community would see a rise in prominence following Hawaii Volcanos National Park being declared.  The Volcano Road of Mamalahoa Highway was improved to automotive standards with the installation of a concrete surface circa 1927-1928

The early Wright Road corridor can be seen in this original configuration on the 1924 United States Geological Survey map (courtesy historicaerials.com).


Hawaii Route 148 was added to the State Highway System by way of a 1961 Highway Department of Transportation document (courtesy Oscar Voss's hawaiihighways.com).  The corridor was to be 4.8 miles originating at Hawaii Route 11 (then at what is now Old Volcano Road) in the Volcano area comprising Wright Road and Amaunau Road.  The document specifies the highway was intended to continue another 14 miles north to the Saddle Road (Hawaii Route 200).  

Hawaii Route 148 can be seen on the 1964 United States Geological Survey map of Volcano (courtesy historicaerials.com).


Ultimately the road north of Volcano was never expanded to the Saddle Road.  Hawaii Route 148 appeared in a 1967 Hawaii Department of Transportation document as being slated to be transferred to Hawaii County.  

Upon being relinquished from the State Highway System Wright Road and Amaunau Road were designated as Hawaii County Route 148.  During 1981 the Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve as designated by the State of Hawaii.  The reserve set aside the rainforest north of Volcano and is only accessible from the end of Amaunau Road.  

The beginning of Hawaii County Route 148 can be seen below as it is currently signed from the modern alignment of Hawaii Route 11 in Volcano.  


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more