Hawaii Route 560 is a 10-mile portion of Kuhio Highway on the Hanalei coast of northern Kauai. This segment of Kuhio Highway begins at the terminus of Hawaii Route 56 in Princeville and terminates at Kee Beach in Haena State Park.
Hawaii Route 560 as presently configured was largely constructed from 1893 through 1928. Modernization of this corridor began in 1911 with construction of the Hanalei Grade and culminated in 1928 when Kuhio Highway reached Kee Beach. The entire 38 miles of Kuhio Highway was originally assigned as part of Hawaii Route 56 when the Hawaii Route System was expanded to Kauai in 1955.
The Princeville-Kee Beach of Kuhio Highway was renumbered as Hawaii Route 560 during the 1970s. The purpose of this renumbering was to denote a less modern design standard on the last 10 miles of Kuhio Highway. 1970s era attempts to modernize the Princeville-Kee Beach corridor were met with massive public resistance which led to the segment being added to the National Register of Historical Places in 2004. Hawaii Route 560 is often cited to be the most scenic highway on Kauai which is famous for both terrain and primitive one-lane bridges.
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.
Part 1; the history of Kuhio Highway (Hawaii Routes 56 and 560)
Hawaii Routes 56 and 560 both components of the 38-mile long Kuhio Highway. Hawaii Route 56 begins in Lihue at Rice Street and terminates after 28 miles at Hawaii Route 560 in Princeville. The remaining 10 miles are carried by Hawaii Route 560 to the end of the roadway at Kee Beach in Haena State Park. Kuhio Highway is part of the larger Kauai Belt Road.
Kuhio Highway is named in honor of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole. Kūhiō was born on the island of Kauai in Koloa on March 26, 1871. Kūhiō was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaii when it was overthrown by a coalition of American and European businessmen in 1893. He would later go onto become the delegate to Congress representing the Territory of Hawaii. Kūhiō is the only member of United States Congress to have ever come from a royal lineage. Kūhiō would die on January 7, 1922.
The history of Kuhio Highway is extensively documented in a United States Department of the Interior application to the National Register of Historical Places dated September 5, 2000. The application is heavily focused on the history of the portion of Kuhio Highway comprised by Hawaii Route 560 but also details much of the overall history of the Kauai Belt Road.
In the final decades of the 19th century there was a rough collection of roadways which connected Lihue to the Emmaville (now Princeville) area. Much of these roadways were constructed at the behest of commercial interests at the major plantations in locales such as Kapaa and Emmaville.
The first bridge over the Hanalei River had been constructed in 1893. The bridge was accessed via a switchback road which descended Hanalei Hill from the ranch at Emmaville. This switchback road was steep, and wagons were required to use a team of cowboys to traverse. The roadway ended in Hanalei and travelers needed to follow the shoreline on foot or horseback west to Kee Beach. This early roadway to Hanalei is described in an 1895 report by Eric Knudson.
In 1900 the territorial government purchased a steel bridge from White & Whitehouse to be placed at the Hanalei River. This structure was a direct replacement for the 1893-era span which likely was constructed of timber materials. By 1904 timber bridges at been installed west of Hanalei at Waipo Stream, Waikoko Stream and Wainiha River. A steel bridge was constructed at the Lumahai River in 1905 which functionally made the community of Haena accessible by road for the first time.
The early Hanalei Coast Road can be seen on the 1903 Hawaii Territory survey map of Kauai.
In 1911 the territorial legislature established a loan fund which provided revenue to construct belt roads on the Hawaiian Islands. A Loan Fund Commission was established for each inhabited island. The commission on Kauai was early to act and moved to construct numerous bridges over the island over the next five years to complete the Kauai Belt Road.
In 1911 the Kauai Loan Fund Commission initiated a project to construct the Hanalei Grade and a new truss bridge at the Hanalei River. The Hanalei Grade replaced the earlier Hanalei Hill switchback road and was completed by March 1912. The Hanalei Grade carried a sustained 6% incline which made the roadway far more accessible to vehicles.
The Hanalei River truss bridge was prefabricated by Hamilton & Chambers Company in New York at the behest of the Honolulu Iron Works Company. This span is 113-foot-long span was installed at the Hanalei River and opened to traffic by the end of 1912.
During May 1912 the Kauai Loan Fund Commission authorized the replacement of the timber bridges at Waikoko Stream, Waipa Stream and Waioil Stream with concrete spans. Contracts were quickly let which led to all of the structures being replaced by the end of the year. To the east of the Hanalei River another concrete bridge had been constructed at Kilauea Stream in the community of Kilauea.
In 1915 completion of the Kauai Belt Road entered its final phase when Kauai County Supervisor proposed a $100,000 bond to construct the highway from Mana (near Barking Sands Beach) northeast to Haena (now Kauai County Route 552, Hawaii Route 550 and Kokee Road). The purpose of this bond was to accelerate roadway construction so that the Belt Road could be completed by 1917. It was estimated that the roadway wouldn't be finished until 1923 using Loan Fund Commission money.
Ultimately the $100,000 bond measure failed to pass and Kokee Road would never reach Haena. Funding was refocused in 1916 towards paving the segment of the Kauai Belt Road (then known as the Hanalei Road) from Haena eastward to Moloaa Stream. By the end of the year the Garden Island newspaper would tout the Kauai Belt Road as the first to be complete. This boast was despite the fact that the Kauai Belt Road only traversed about half the island.
In 1919 a concrete pony arch bridge was constructed at the Wailua River as a replacement for the 1895 span. The 1919-era bridge can be seen below shortly after being constructed in Garden Island photo. In 1920 the Ahukini Terminal Railway would also construct a bridge at the Wailua River.
In January 1921 the Wainiha River cut a new channel during a storm which required a third highway bridge to be built. Plans for this bridge (Wainiha Bridge #2) were drafted during February 1922 and called for a timber truss. It isn't clear what kind of interim structures were put in place, but Kauai County bridge records indicate Bridge #1 was constructed in 1922 whereas Bridge #2 and Bridge #3 were constructed in 1931.
Both Kuhio Highway and the Ahukini Terminal Railway can be seen passing through downtown Kapaa on this northbound facing photo dated July 6, 1924.
In 1945 the 1919-era Wailua River Bridge was replaced with the span which currently carries the southbound lanes of Hawaii Route 56. The 1945 span is a tee-beam design which made it more resilient to the effects of corrosion.
The April Fools 1946 Tidal Wave would destroy two of the Wainiha River Bridges. These two spans were replaced by timber spans before the end of 1946. The Waikoko Stream Bridge was also damaged by the same tidal wave but was quickly repaired.
In 1955 the Hawaii Route System was expanded to Kauai. Hawaii Route 56 was initially assigned to the entire corridor of Kuhio Highway between Lihue and Kee Beach.
On March 9, 1957, three tidal waves destroyed the Wainiha River Bridges. The only portion of the three bridges to survive was the east span of Wainiha Bridge #3. The structures were quickly repaired, and Kuhio Highway was reopened to Haena. During December 1957 flooding from Hurricane Nina would damage Wainiha Bridge #3 again. This flooding would also destroy the Kalihiwai River Bridge near what is now Princeville.
Hawaii Route 56 can be seen fully aligned on Kuhio Highway between Lihue and Kee Beach on the 1959 Gousha Highway map of Hawaii. Hawaii would become the 50th State on August 21, 1959, and the Ahukini Terminal Railway would shutter by the end of the year.
Following the destruction of the Kalihiwai River Bridge in 1957 a temporary span was put in place. Hawaii Route 56 would be rerouted inland to a new alignment which was above the flood prone terrain. The original alignment of Hawaii Route 56 is now known as Kalihiwai Road.
In 1965 Hawaii Route 56 was realigned onto a bypass of what is now Koolau Road. The modern highway alignment is located inland a more favorable crossing of Moloaa Stream. The Lumahai River Bridge would be replaced with the current span in 1968.
In 1968 the Hawaii Routes and County Routes were split into separate systems. The entirety of Kuhio Highway was fully transferred to the Hawaii Department of Transportation for maintenance. During the early 1970s the final 10 miles of Kuhio Highway was from Princeville to Kee Beach would be renumbered as Hawaii Route 560. The purpose of this renumbering was to denote the lesser standard of maintenance compared to the segment of Kuhio Highway from Lihue to Princeville.
In 1973 Hawaii Route 56 would be realigned onto a bypass of Kilauea. The original highway alignment is now known as Kolo Road.
In 1974 the Hawaii Department Transportation proposed replacing the 1912-era Hanalei River Bridge. The proposed replacement bridge included ramp structures and a bypass of the Hanalei Grade. When the project Environmental Impact Statement was released, it was met with massive public resistance towards any expansion to the Hawaii Route 560. A rendering the proposed Hanalei River Bridge can be seen below (courtesy Historic Hawaii).
In 2003 the Hanalei River Bridge was refurbished with higher strength truss steel. The span was rededicated on November 9, 2003. On February 11, 2004, the entire Hawaii Route 560 portion of Kuhio Highway was added to the National Register of Historical Places and site #03001048. In 2005 the Hawaii Department of Transportation released a Hawaii Route 560 Historic Roadway Corridor Plan. The purpose of said plan was to study ways to preserve the current characteristics of Hawaii Route 560, namely the many one-lane bridges.
Following the addition of Hawaii Route 560 to the National Register of Historical Places all three Wainiha River Bridges were improved. The decks of all three spans were replaced with prefabricated designs from the Acrow bridge company.
In 2009 the Ahukini Terminal Railway Bridge at the Wailua River was converted to northbound Hawaii Route 56 usage. The railroad deck was replaced with a prefabricated design sourced from the Acrow Bridge company. The 1945-era Wailua River Bridge was converted to southbound travel only.
In 2019 the Waikoko Stream Bridge and Waipa Stream Bridge was replaced with a modernized one-lane concrete spans. These modern spans emulate the design of the original 1910s era structures.
Part 2; a drive on Hawaii Route 560
Westbound Hawaii Route 560 begins at Princeville at the terminus of Hawaii Route 56. The Hawaii Route 56 mileage switches from 28.00 to 0.00 as Kuhio Highway transitions from route designations.
Traffic is advised of the historic status of Hawaii Route 560 approaching the Hanalei Grade.
A vista of Hanalei Valley can be found near the beginning of Hawaii Route 560.
Hawaii Route 560 descends the Hanalei Grade and crosses the Hanalei River Bridge.
Hawaii Route 560 passes through the community of Hanalei. The village of Hanalei has existed back to pre-European contact Hawaii. After Kauai became part of the unified Kingdom of Hawaii former Kauai ruler Kaumualiʻi would permit construction of two Russian fortifications near Hanalei in 1817. Ultimately the Russians were expelled, and Hanalei would become a popular vacationing destination for the Hawaiian Royal Family. As the 20th century approached the community came more to be known for rice fields which were tended by migrant works of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Portuguese descent.
Hawaii Route 560 crosses Waioli Stream.
Hawaii Route 560 emerges onto Hanalei Bay and crosses the Waikoko Bridge.
Hawaii Route 560 crosses the Lumahai River Bridge. This structure is an outlier on the highway given the 1968-era design is two-lanes.
Hawaii Route 560 crosses the three Wainiha River Bridges. Immediately west of the bridges the highway intersects Wainiha Powerhouse Road. Wainiha Powerhouse Road was once part of the northern segment of Hawaii Route 55. Hawaii Route 55 was once planned to be connected with Kooke Road near the Kalalau Lookout in Kooke State Park.
Hawaii Route 560 passes through the community of Haena and crosses a ford at Manoa Stream.
Hawaii Route 560 crosses another ford at Limahuli Stream and enters Haena State Park.
Traffic without a reservation at Haena State Park is directed to turn around at the Kee Beach Overflow Parking lot. A gate bars general vehicular access to Hawaii Route 560 west of the parking lot.
Westbound Hawaii Route 560 terminates at Kee Beach at Mile Marker 10.0.
The trailhead for the Kalalau Trail is located at the terminus of Hawaii Route 560. This 11-mile trail traverses the towering Na Pail coastline to Kalalau Valley. The rugged, steep and rock-strewn trail is often cited to be one of the most dangerous in the United States due to unpredictable conditions.
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