Skip to main content

Hawaii County Route 137

By

Hawaii County Route 137 is a discontinues highway which exists on the Lower Puna Coast and Hilo areas of the Big Island.  The Lower Puna Coast segment is 14.6 miles which once connected Hawaii Route 130 near Kalapana to Hawaii County Route 132 near Kapoho.  The Hilo segment of Hawaii County Route 137 begins at the end of Hawaii Route 1370 and follows Kalanianaole Street 2.8 miles east to the end of the pavement.  The two portions of Hawaii County Route 137 were once planned to be connected via an extension from near Kapoho to Hilo via the historic Puna Trail.  Portions of the Lower Puna Coast segment east of Issac Hale Park were destroyed by the 2018 Lower Puna Eruption. 


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 County Route 137

In 1955 the Hawaii Route System was expanded to the Big Island.  Hawaii Route 137 was established as running along Kalapana-Kapoho Road from Hawaii Route 13 near Kalapana east to Hawaii Route 132 near Kapoho.  According to Oscar Voss's hawaiihighways.com the original scale of Hawaii Route 137 was 17.6 miles.  

Hawaii Route 137 can be seen on the 1959 Gousha Highway map of Hawaii.  Hawaii Route 137 was ultimately transferred to Hawaii County following Hawaii becoming the fiftieth state on August 21, 1959.


According to Oscar Voss's hawaiihighways.com a 1961 era Hawaii Department of Transportation document showed a proposed extension of Hawaii Route 12 renumbered as Hawaii Route 120.  The corridor was planned corridor was branded as the 'Hilo-Keaukaha Escape Road."  The extension would have followed the shoreline east of Hilo and gradually looped back to Hawaii Route 11 (Kanoelehua Avenue) approximately where present-day Puainako Street now is located.  Hawaii Route 120 would have tied in with a planned northern extension of Hawaii County Route 137 along northern Kalapana-Kapoho Road and the Puna Trail.  

A 2005 draft Hawaii County planning document rejected a coastal highway connecting the Hilo and Puna districts.  The rationale for rejection was that the proposed road would be inordinately vulnerable to tsunamis and lava flows.  Following the release of the document the Hawaii Department of Transportation relinquished much of Hawaii Route 120 save for the section between Kuhio Street and Pua Avenue.  The remaining balance of Kalanianole Street east of Pua Avenue was reassigned as a disconnected segment of Hawaii County Route 137. 

Kalanianole Street from Kuhio Street to Pua Avenue was renumbered as Hawaii Route 1370 in reference to Hawaii County Route 137.  The corridor was kept in the state highway system to provide a Hawaii Department of Transportation maintained connection from the Port of Hilo Entrance (Hawaii Route 19 at Kuhio Street) east to the University of Hawaii at Hilo Pacific Aquaculture & Coastal Resources Center.  

During May 2018 the East Rift Zone of Kilauea began to erupt through numerous fissures near Kapoho.  On May 19th lava began covering Hawaii County Route 137 and flowing into the Pacific Ocean.  The flows turned northeast and covered Hawaii County Route 132 on May 29th.  The subdivisions of Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacation Land Hawaii were both destroyed by the eruptions.  The Green Lake withing Kapoho Crater was boiled away by lava during early June.  Eruption activity subsided by August 2018 after almost three months.

Hawaii County Route 132 was subsequently rebuilt to where it once terminated at Hawaii County Route 137.  The purpose of Hawaii County Route 132 being reconstructed was to provide roadway access to northbound Kalapana-Kapoho Road.  Hawaii County Route 137 now terminates near Issac Hale Park east of Pohoiki Road. 



Part 2; scenes from the Puna Coast segment of Hawaii County Route 137

The Puna Coast segment of Hawaii County Route 137 begins at Hawaii Route 130 near Kalapana (Scott Onson photo).  Following eruption activity in 1990 traffic is now required to a brief detour on Pahoa-Kalapana Road to reach Hawaii County Route 137 at Kalapana-Kapoho Road. 


Since 2018 the eastern terminus of Hawaii County Route 132 has been rebuilt to where it once met Hawaii County Route 137.  The Puna Coast segment of Hawaii County Route 137 remains severed from near Issac Hale Park to Hawaii County Route 132.  Despite the junction functionally no longer existing it is still signed from Hawaii County Route 132 (Scott Onson photos).





Part 3; Hawaii Route 1370 and the northern segment of Hawaii County Route 137

Below Hawaii Route 1370 can be seen on the 2022 Hawaii Department of Transportation map of the Big Island.  The 0.2-mile highway is not sign posted in-field. 


Below Kalanianole Street can be seen east from Silva Street and Kuhio Street (Hawaii Route 19).  The corridor of Hawaii Route 1370 ends a short distance ahead at Pua Avenue.  From Pua Avenue the remaining balance of Kalanianole Street eastward is carried by the northern segment of Hawaii County Route 137.  


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more