Skip to main content

Hawaii Route 197

By

Hawaii Route 197 currently is a 1.2 mile partially complete state highway located on the Big Island near Kona International Airport.  The corridor as presently constructed originates at Hawaii Route 19 and follows Kealakehe Parkway east to a dead-end at Keanalehu Drive.  The corridor of Hawaii Route 197 has a proposed extension which would terminate 1.9 miles to the east at Hawaii Route 190 and connect with the great Mamalahoa Highway.  


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 197

The planned corridor of Hawaii Route 197 (Kealakehe Parkway) is 3.1 miles in scale and would connect Hawaii Route 19 (Queen Kaahumanu Highway) near Kona International Airport east to Hawaii Route 190 (Mamalahoa Highway).  The intent of the corridor is to replace the functionally obsolete Palani Drive (Hawaii Route 190) as the primary connector to Mamalahoa Highway.  

The adoption of Hawaii Route 197 into the state highway system is not fully clear, but likely came during the 1980s.  The highway appears complete from Hawaii Route 19 east to Keanalehu Drive (approximately 1.2-miles) on the 1998 United States Geological Survey map (courtesy historicaerials.com).


The remaining unconstructed portion of Hawaii Route 197 from Keanalehu Drive east to Hawaii Route 190/Mamalahoa Highway on the current Hawaii Department of Transportation log for the Big Island.  The corridor is planned to tie into Mamalahoa Highway south the junction of Hawaii Route 190 and Hawaii County Route 180.  The status of the unconstructed portion of Hawaii Route 197 is unclear as it remained unaltered on the 2012 state of Hawaii Federal-Aid System logs.  




Part 2; a drive on Hawaii Route 197

Hawaii Route 197 eastbound begins at the intersection of Hawaii Route 19 at Kealakehe Parkway.  There are no reassurance shields altering traffic to the presence of Hawaii Route 197. 


Hawaii Route 197 ascends eastbound to a dead-end at Keanalehu Drive.  The corridor has no Hawaii Route 197 signage or mile markers.  Overhead the peak of Hualalai can be seen looking in the distance.  

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

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

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