Hawaii Highways road photos -- Introduction (page 1 of 2)

This is an introductory primer on the standard (and some non-standard) route markers and other road signs of Hawaii, and other roadside features found on all the islands. There are about three dozen photos here, divided into two pages for more manageable downloads. With some exceptions noted below, all these photos are my own.

The photos below focus on state and county route signs and milemarkers, plus the state's limited metric road signage. Page 2 covers Interstate route signs, other kinds of signs, pavement markings, and other road features, and also contains links to the rest of the Hawaii Highways road photos pages.

NOTE: In case you want more detail, clicking a few of the photos below will call up enlarged, higher-quality (less .jpg compression) versions. Those alternate versions have larger file sizes, so please be patient while they download.
A standard Hawaii state highway route marker, with a standard mile marker (with route number), at the south end of old state route 83 (part of the Kamehameha Highway) in Haleiwa on Oahu's north shore, where it joins state routes 99 and 930. This stretch was recently bypassed by another two-lane road, which now carries the route 83 designation, but this sign assembly on the old route was still there in May 2005. (September 1999)

County routes in Hawaii are usually marked the same way as state highways (see below for exceptions), but the minor county routes are often marked only with milepost assemblies like those on the right, without shields.
 

 Standard-style Route 83 shield, with milemarker 0 and route number plate mounted underneath
 
Terminal milepost at north end of route 51 on Kauai
 		 Hawaii routes usually do not have "BEGIN" and "END" signs at each end. Instead, where the start and finish of the road is not obvious, there is normally a zero milepost at one end (see above), and a terminal milepost indicating the ending mileage to two decimal places (see left, mile 3.49 at the north end of route 51 on Kauai). (November 2001)
 
Begin sign for route 560 with zero milepost, alongside end sign for route 56 with terminal milepost underneath 58 begin/51 end signs, with zero milepost for route 58
"END" signs are rare throughout the islands, and "BEGIN" signs are still more rare. These two examples are on Kauai, where a road changes route number for no obvious reason (above left, where the Kuhio Highway changes from a two-digit primary to a three-digit secondary route in Princeville; above left, where Waapa Road on route 51 becomes Nawiliwili Road on route 58). (Both photos November 2001)
 
Mile 20 marking on shoulder of eastbound H-1 Milepost 12 on H-3, with horizontal rather than usual vertical number    Combined mile 5/km 8 marker on route 19
On some freeways on Oahu, milemarker signs are supplemented by painted pavement milemarkers. (November 2001) Above left, a nonstandard milemarker on Oahu's Interstate H-3, with the number horizontal rather than vertical (the usual style, as shown in the route 56 marker above). This style is also used on some county highways. Above right, a combination milemarker with the approximate metric equivalent, appearing on a few state highways. (November 2001 and October 1999, respectively)
 
  Hawaii generally doesn't have much metric signage on its roads, except on Kauai, where the newer signs on state highways often show metric distances, such as on the sign to the right in northern Kauai on state route 56 approaching Princeville from the east, and at the sign below in southern Kauai at the eastern end of state route 540 where it joins state route 50. (Both photos June 2005) Sign on route 56, indicating distances to Princeville and Hanalei, in both miles and kilometers
East end of state route 540 at junction with state route 50, with sign indicating in both miles and kilometers distances to Waimea to the left, and Kalaheo and Lihue to the right
 

An example of a shield for Hawaii's usually unsigned 4-digit state routes, this one at the southern junction of Oahu's Farrington and Kamehameha Highways. Most of them are on Oahu, often near the island's many military installations (Maui and the Big Island also have 4dis). Many Hawaii 4dis are minor roads that otherwise would not be in the state highway system. (May 2000)		 Route 7101 and 99 markers at their junction
 
Route 72 marker with state name
 
A rare style of state route shield with the state name, found at three places on the Kalanianaole Highway (state route 72) south of Kailua in southeastern Oahu. As far as I know, there are no similar route shields anywhere else in the state. (September 1999)
In downtown Wailuku on Maui, at the intersection of Wells Street with High Street (east end of state route 30), this signed "by-pass" route marker encourages eastbound travelers to get off High Street before the congested intersection with Main Street (state route 32). While this is not the only current designated bypass route in Hawaii, as far as I know this is the state's only bypass or other bannered route marker, other than some incomplete sign assemblies elsewhere in downtown Wailuku for former "by-pass" routes, other than some incomplete sign assemblies elsewhere in downtown Wailuku for several former "by-pass" routes. (May 2005)
 		 'By-pass' 32 route marker in downtown Wailuku, next to route marker indicating main route is ahead
 
Rust-stained cutout shields at former route 15/route 151 junction on Big Island Route shields for county routes 390 and 365
These cutout-style shields are often found on former routes long removed from the state highway system, as with old route 15 and 151 in Pahala on the Big Island. (May 2000) Route shields on county routes, where they exist at all (many county routes are unsigned, or marked only with milemarkers), are usually identical to state highway shields. On Maui, however, many of the newer county route shields slightly differ from the standard state design, with a rounder white background and a different number font, as shown here at the intersection of county routes 365 and 390 in downtown Makawao. (May 2005)
 
County route 365 marker, with white number on dark background    End state highway/begin route 31 signs at west end of county route 31    Route 39 marker, with black number on round white background
For some reason, all the oddball county route markers I've seen in Hawaii are on Maui. Maui County apparently once used as its standard "photo negative" shields like the one above left on Maui route 365 north of Makawao (no longer there, but there are still a few others in central Maui). Maui County also marks its segment of the Piilani Highway (route 31 south of the Haleakala volcano, shown where it joins state highway 37 south of Kula) in a less interesting way, shown in the center photo above. Finally, above right is a photo of route 39 marker with the number within a white round background, at the junction of county route 394 with county route 390 (apparently dating back to the early post-statehood era, when many 3-digit secondary routes were signed with only the first two digits). That sign, and a heavily-damaged one west of that junction on route 390, are the only ones of that kind I've seen in Hawaii. (May 2000, November 2001, and May 2005 respectively)
 
'End state highway' sign where state route 340 turns into county route 340
 
Some routes change from state to county jurisdiction, while keeping the same number, with no notice other than an "end state highway" sign like this one on Maui's Kahekili Highway (state, then county, route 340) north of Wailuku. Note the route 340 shield in the background, past the "end state highway" sign. (November 2001)
 


Page 2: Interstate signage, and other signs and features
or directly to other parts of the Hawaii Highways road photos collection:

Overview · Interstate H-3 · Interstate H-1 · Other Freeways · Other Oahu South
Other Oahu West · Other Oahu East · Kuhio Highway · Other Kauai · Hana Highway
Piilani Highway · Kahekili Highway · Other Maui · Lanai/Molokai
Kalawao County · Saddle Road · Observatories Roads · Lava Closures
Red Road · Waipio Valley · Other Big Island

or to other sections of the Hawaii Highways site:
Link to go directly to Hawaii Highways main page

Comments, etc.? Please e-mail me.

© 1999-2007 Oscar Voss.