Former Hawaii Route 1970

Hawaii Route 1970 was an approximately 1-mile state highway which was located in Hilo on the Big Island. The corridor Hawaii Route 1970 began at Hawaii Route 19 near the Port of Hilo entrance. The highway looped back to Hawaii Route 19 near the Hilo International Airport Cargo Entrance via Silva Street and Kamehameha Avenue. Functionally Hawaii Route 1970 was commissioned between 2002-2004 and was relinquished in 2012 following a Federal Aid classification.

Part 1; the history of former Hawaii Route 1970

According to Oscar Voss's hawaiihighways.com Hawaii Route 1970 was first proposed on a 1967 Hawaii Department of Transportation document. The corridor was planned as following Kamehameha Avenue and Silva Street east from Air Cargo Entrance of Hilo Internationa Airport to the entrance of the Port of Hilo. The highway reported appeared on a 1976 map as Hawaii Route 19, but this cannot be corroborated on any known United States Geological Survey map or commercial map of the era.

The corridor of Hawaii Route 1970 was officially added to the Big Island state highway system sometime between 2002-2004. The corridor appears to have never been signed in-field and existed merely as a state highway maintenance vehicle.

Hawaii Route 1970 last appears on 2012 Hawaii Department of Transportation Federal Aid Classification update. The highway was then classified as a Principle Arterial and was being downgraded to a Minor Collector. The rationale for the downgrade was the presence of Hawaii Route 19 along Kalanianaole Street.

Hawaii Route 1970 does not appear on the 2022 Hawaii Department of Transportation inventory for the Big Island.

Part 2; a drive along former Hawaii Route 1970

Former Hawaii Route 1970 begins at the intersection of Hawaii Route 19/Kalanianaole Street and Silva Street in Hilo.

The former routing of Hawaii Route 1970 followed Silva Street and Kamehameha Avenue west along the boundary of Hilo International Airport. The highway ended at a roundabout which connected with Hawaii Route 19 and the Cargo Entrance to Hilo International Airport.

Comments

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade. This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman. Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga. The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough. Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade. The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding. From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga. The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the 1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights that were placed in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also originally positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as " dummy lights " and were common until traffic lights were moved onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection. In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights are found in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale. Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east. Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista. Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage. Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale. Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley. Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers. The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908. Early agricu...