Hawaii Route 2000 is an approximately 9.5-mile state highway located near Hilo on the Big Island. Hawaii Route 2000 acts as a bypass for the older routing of Hawaii Route 200 (now Hawaii County Route 200) towards the Saddle Road corridor. The highway begins at Railroad Avenue near Hilo International Airport and spans west to the junction of Hawaii Route 200/Hawaii County Route 200 at Kaumana Drive. Much of Hawaii Route 2000 follows Puainako Street towards the Saddle Road.
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Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 2000
The interior of the Big Island of Hawaii historically has been a hostile and unforgiving volcanic terrain which has not lent itself to overland crossing. Humuula Saddle in particular lies between the active volcanos of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai. There is little evidence to suggest Humuula Saddle was widely used during the era of ancient Hawaii.
During May 1849 the Kingdom of Hawaii's Minister of Finance Gerritt P. Judd proposed roadway across the Big Island. The so-called "Judd Trail" originated at Holualoa Bay near Kailua-Kona and headed directly east towards a plateau south of Hualalai. The highway made to 19°38'38.0"N 155°45'12.0"W before it was destroyed in 1859 by an eruption from Mauna Loa (Wikipedia citation #10 The Hawaiian Kingdom, Volume 2 1854-1874). The remaining Judd Trail is still visible as a straight-line roadway on modern map imagery.
The Judd Traill appears on maps well into the Twentieth Century. The trail can be seen prominently on the 1930 Hilo Chamber of Commerce map of the Big Island.
By 1873 a dirt roadway had been constructed from Waimea to Humuula Sheep Station in Parker Ranch. This early road was connected to a foot trail east to Hilo. The Humuula Sheep Station-Hilo Trail can be seen on the 1930 Hilo Chamber of Commerce map of the Big Island.
By 1936 Kaumana Road had been constructed to the western extent of Hilo which connected to the trail to Humuula Sheep Station. The Saddle Road was constructed from Humuula Sheep Station east to Hilo by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during 1943 amid World War II (Wikipedia citation #13). The Saddle Road was initially just a gravel grade which intended to facilitate accelerated troop movements over the Big Island.
Hawaii Route 20 can be seen spanning from Mamalahoa Highway near Waimea east to Hilo on the 1959 Gousha Hawaii map of Hawaii. Hawaii Route 20 and the Saddle Road served as a cutoff for the northern half of Hawaii Route 19/Mamalahoa Highway.
During the late 1970s the Saddle Road corridor was renumbered to Hawaii Route 200 which denoted it being a secondary state highway. The early Saddle Road was infamous for carrying high grades and not being well suited to facilitate modern freight traffic. Much of the corridor improvements to the Saddle Road would be born out of an acceptance of an Environmental Impact Stady in 1999.
Much of the original alignment of Hawaii Route 200 in Hilo was bypassed in September 2004 with the opening of Hawaii Route 2000 along Puainako Street to Kaumana Drive near Country Club Road. The opening of the initial segment of Hawaii Route 2000 saw the designation of Hawaii County Route 200 along Kaumana Drive and Waianuenue Avenue to Hawaii Route 19 in downtown Hilo.
Puainako Street from Hawaii Route 11 west to Komohama Street was previously designated as Hawaii County Route 123. This designation appears for the first time on the 1963 United States Geological Survey map of Hilo.
Hawaii County Route 123 last appears on the 1995 United States Geological Survey map of Hilo.
Hawaii Route 200 was rerouted north of Bradshaw Army Airfield in two phases from May 2007 to August 2009 between Mile Markers 28-42. The older Saddle Road was rebranded as the "Lightning Trail" and was maintained as Hawaii Route 201 until around 2013. East of the Army Airfield the corridor was expanded between Mile Markers 11-28 during 2008-2011.
During September 2013 a new segment of Hawaii Route 200 opened west of Mile Marker 41.5 west to Hawaii Route 190. This new segment bypassed the original alignment of the Saddle Road towards Waimea. The entire corridor of Hawaii Route 200 was renamed as "Daniel K. Inouye Highway" in honor of the Hawaiian Senator.
Hawaii Route 2000 was extended west of Country Club Drive to western Kaumana Drive between Mile Markers 6.5-8.5 in recent years. This truncated the Hawaii Route 200 as beginning at western Kaumana Drive while also simultaneously extending Hawaii County Route 200.
The corridor of Hawaii Route 200 and Daniel K. Inouye Highway was originally planned to be extended west of Hawaii Route 190 to Hawaii Route 19 by 2019. The corridor has stalled in the Environmental Study phase, and it isn't clear when it will be constructed. The planned extension can be seen on the 2022 Hawaii Department of Transportation maps. The map also displays the original Saddle Road as "Old Hawaii Route 200."
Part 2; a drive on Hawaii County Route 2000
Hawaii Route 2000 continues west on Puainako Street over the segment once part of Hawaii County Route 123 to Komohana Street.
Hawaii Route 2000 makes a brief jog on Komohana Street to the western extension of Puainako Street.
Westbound Hawaii Route 2000 ascends Puainako Street. The modern highway branches left from the end of Puainako Street onto the modern Saddle Road.
Hawaii Route 2000 continues west and terminates at Hawaii Route 200/Hawaii County Route 200 upon reaching Kaumana Drive. The only real indication that Hawaii Route 2000 has ended is the presence of signage for Daniel K. Inouye Highway and the Old Saddle Road.
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