Kuakini Highway (former Hawaii Route 11 in Kailua-Kona)

Kuakini Highway east of Palani Road in Kailua-Kona is the original alignment of Hawaii Route 11. The highway upon being commissioned in 1955 began at the Palani Road (then Hawaii Route 19) and followed Kuakini Highway southeast towards Holualoa. Hawaii Route 11 was shifted to an extension of Queen Kaahumanu Highway during the late 1970s which bypassed downtown Kailua-Kona.

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 11 and Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona

Hawaii Route 11 is part of Mamalahoa Highway (the Hawaii Belt Road) and is the longest Hawaiian State Route at 121.97 miles. The highway begins at the mutual junction of Hawaii Route 19 and Hawaii Route 190 in Kailua-Kona. From Kailua-Kona the routing of Hawaii Route 11 crosses the volcanic landscapes of southern side of the Big Island. Hawaii Route 11 terminates at Hawaii Route 19/Kamehameha Avenue near Hilo Bay and Hilo International Airport.

Mamalahoa Highway was declared by royal decree in 1783 via the Law of the Splintered Paddle. The law was conceived based off an incident Kamehameha I was part of along the Puna coast. During said incident Kamehameha I and his men were conducting a shoreline raid when they encountered two Puna fisherman. While pursuing the fisherman across a lava field one of Kamehameha's feet was caught in a rock. The fishermen seized upon the opportunity to retaliate and struck Kamehameha in the head with a wooden paddle.

Kamehameha opted to not retaliate against the fisherman and used the incident as the basis of the Law of the Splintered Paddle. The law essentially guaranteed safe passage to all travelers across the Hawaiian Islands and was used as a basis of Mamalahoa Highway on the Big Island. The highway corridor was rapidly developed across the Big Island and was mostly annexed as early automotive roads.

In 1955 the Hawaii Route System was modified and expanded to the Big Island. The southern half of Mamalahoa Highway from Kailua-Kona to Hilo was assigned Hawaii Route 11. The early routing of Hawaii Route 11 can be seen on the 1959 Gousha Map of Hawaii.

Hawaii Route 11 has had several minor realignments on the southern side of the Big Island. The older alignment segments typically appear on maps as Old Mamalahoa Highway or Old Volcano Road.

The alignment of Hawaii Route 11 in Kailua-Kona has changed significantly. The highway headed north from Captain Cook originally entered Kailua-Kona via Kuakini Highway. Hawaii Route 11 followed Kuakini Highway into downtown Kailua-Kona where it met Hawaii Route 19 at Palani Road. This early alignment can be seen on the 1961 United States Geological Survey map of Kailua-Kona (courtesy historicaerials.com).

According to Oscar Voss's Hawaii Highways webpage the alignment of Hawaii Route 11 shifted onto to an extension of Queen Kaahumanu Highway around 1976. This alignment shift removed Kuakini Highway from the Big Island State Highway system.

Part 2; a drive on former Hawaii Route 11 along Kuakini Highway

Traffic following southbound Palani Road reaches the terminus of Hawaii Route 190 at Kuakini Highway. The Hawaii Department of Transportation signage still advises destinations once accessible on southbound Kuakini Highway when it was part of Hawaii Route 11. Volcano is listed as being 96 miles away.