Skip to main content

Hawaii Route 220

By

Hawaii Route 220 is a 3.7-mile State Highway located on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island.  The highway connects from Hawaii Route 19 west to Akaka Falls State Park via the community of Honomu.  The road to Akaka Falls was part of the original 1955 Big Island Hawaii Routes and was initially signed as Hawaii Route 22.  The corridor would be later renumbered to Hawaii Route 220 when it was realigned off Staple Camp Road onto an extension of Akaka Falls Road.  


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 Hawaii Route 220

Akaka Falls is located Kolekole Stream west of the community of Honomu.  The falls is 442 feet high and has been considered a major tourism attraction for decades.  Nearby Kahuna Falls can also be found nearby in the so-called Akaka Falls State Park.  

A roadway west of Mamalahoa Highway in Honomu west to Akaka Falls is shown as being present on the 1930 Hilo Chamber of Commerce map of the Big Island.  The earliest known United States Geological Survey map of the Honomu area from 1915 shows a roadway serving Akaka Falls.  


During 1946 much of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway north of Hilo would be destroyed by tsunami.  The rail right-of-way was used to construct a new alignment of Mamalahoa Highway which would become part of Hawaii Route 19 when the numbered Hawaii Route System was expanded to the Big Island in 1955.  Hawaii Route 22 was designated to serve Akaka Falls by way of Honomu Road, Old Mamalahoa Highway, Stable Camp Road and Akaka Falls Road. 

Hawaii Route 22 can be seen in detail on the 1959 Gousha Highway map of Hawaii.  The corridor is seen passing through Honomu and terminating at Akaka Falls. 


Hawaii Route 22 was likely renumbered to Hawaii Route 220 during the late 1970s.  The corridor appears to have been shifted off of Stable Camp Road onto an extension of Akaka Falls Road around the same time.  Stable Camp Road appears on some maps as "Old Akaka Falls Road."



Part 2; a drive on Hawaii Route 220

Westbound Hawaii Route 220 begins as Hawaii Route 19 approaches Honomu Road.  




Westbound Hawaii Route 220 follows Honomu Road 0.4 miles to Old Mamalahoa Highway in downtown Honomu.  Traffic wishing to continue on the highway must turn left. 







Hawaii Route 220 follows Old Mamalahoa Highway for 0.1 miles and makes a right-hand turn onto Akaka Falls Road. 





Hawaii Route 220 continues west 3.2 miles along Akaka Falls Road to the Akaka Falls State Park trailhead.  The highway crosses the one-lane Paheehee Stream near the state park boundary.  















The trail through Akaka Falls State Park is paved and only approximately 0.5 miles long.  The most difficult aspect is finding a place to park a vehicle in the small lot.  








Eastbound Hawaii Route 220 returning to Honomu along Akaka Falls Road has a sweeping vista of the Pacific Ocean. 











Numerous historic photos of the Honomu community can be found in the businesses lining Old Mamalahoa Highway.  The land now comprising Honomu was sold to Inokichi Ishigo during the early 1900s.  The early community was largely based around the Ishigo Bakery which served the workers of the then nearby Hamakua Coast sugar plantations.  







Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. 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 Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more