Hawaii Routes 26 and 269 were both original 1955 era Hawaii Route designations located on the Big Island. Hawaii Route 26 served as a 9.4-mile highway connecting Kawaihae east to Waimea via Kawaihae Road. Hawaii Route 269 was a short 0.2-mile highway which continued west of Kawaihae to a Coast Guard Sector located on Kawaihae Harbor. Hawaii Route 269 was deleted during the late 1960s due to being removed from the Big Island Federal Aid System. Hawaii Route 26 would be consumed by extensions of Hawaii Route 270 and Hawaii Route 19 in the 1970s.
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Part 1; the history of Hawaii Routes 26 and 269
In 1955 the Hawaii Route System was expanded to the Big Island. The corridor Kawaihae Road from Hawaii Route 25 near Waimea west to Kawaihae was assigned as the 9.4-mile-long Hawaii Route 26. Within Kawaihae itself the Kawaihae Lighthouse Road (later Akoni Pule Highway) was assigned as Hawaii Route 269.
Hawaii Route 26 can be seen terminating in Kawaihae at the Kawaihae Harbor Road on the 1956 United States Geological Survey map. A major roadway (Hawaii Route 269) is shown continuing to the Kawaihae Lighthouse and the Coast Guard Sector Pier.
Hawaii Route 26 can be seen in detail on the 1959 Gousha Highway map of Hawaii. Small routes such as Hawaii Route 269 often were not displayed on Gousha maps aside from city inserts.
Hawaii Route 269 was short lived. The corridor was recommended for deletion from the Big Island Federal Aid System in 1967 according to Oscar Voss's hawaiihighways.com.
During July 1973 Hawaii Route 27 was extended to Hawaii Route 26 in Kawaihae. The corridor was renumbered as Hawaii Route 270 and branded as Akoni Pule Highway (previously the Kawaihae-Makukona Road).
By 1975 the Queen Kaahumanu Highway was completed and used as a realignment of Hawaii Route 19. The entirety of Hawaii Route 26 was subsequently consumed for extensions Hawaii Routes 19 and 270. Hawaii Route 19 consumed the portion of Kawaihae Road east Queen Kaahumanu Highway to Waimea whereas the segment to Kawaihae was added to Hawaii Route 270.
The current designations on Kawaihae Road can be seen on the 1975 United States Geological Survey map of the Big Island.
Part 2; a drive on what was Hawaii Routes 26 and 269
The former routing of Hawaii Route 269 is hard to identify as it is fairly non-descript. The highway existed on what is now Hawaii Route 270 roughly between Kaewa Place and Kawaihae Road.
Hawaii Route 26 would have begun along Kawaihae Road east to where now Hawaii Route 270 now ends at Hawaii Route 19 (Queen Kaahumanu Highway).
Hawaii Route 26 would have followed what is now Hawaii Route 19 on Kawaihae Road and terminated at Hawaii Route 25 (now Hawaii Route 250).
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