Hawai`i Roads - HI 560

HI 560


Most photos are taken westbound from Princeville to Ha`ena. The entire road is on the National Register of Historic Places as of 2004.


The first bridge dating to 1912 is a rarity in Hawai`i; most are slab-sided concrete with little ornamentation. As you can see, the bridge comes from New York, so all of the steel had to be fabricated and shipped over in pieces.


Approaching the bridge from the other (EB) direction, with the only good place to get a photo of the entire structure.


East of there, a one-lane bridge that also dates to 1912. That's how roads are in Hawai`i: constructed in one fell swoop and largely unchanged since.


The EB direction; the stamped bridge is at the far end, so I don't know if these are two adjacent structures, one long one, or two separate bridges structurally connected.


The next bridge up is a replaced pair of one-lane bridges, one short and one long. There's no way to tell if these are permanent or temporary bridges, but even though this style would only be used as temporary on the mainland, I get the feeling they were brought here due to ease of transport and erection, and that they'll be sticking around awhile. One of my clues is the shiny new guiderail, and another is the lack of any construction equipment or stub remnants that would hint at future work to be done.


You guessed it, same bridges but EB.


Carefully sculpted north shore peaks.


I would daresay this is the only direct stream crossing of a Hawai`i state highway. Kentucky has at least one, so this isn't a unique occurrence, but Hawai`i's is intentional and not due to a missing bridge that was never replaced. It's located within walking distance of the first cave at Ha`ena:


The Manini-holo Dry Cave, the only one visitors are allowed to explore, not that it goes anywhere interesting. Like the Wet Caves to the east, it was formed by the ocean over thousands of years when sea levels were higher (or the islands were lower, or both).


The lush greenery envelops you as you enter Ha`ena State Park, and then lets go in the opposite direction. The road narrows as if there were a bridge to cross, but it almost seems like a wet-weather stream crossing would be there instead.


The Waikanaloa Wet Cave, the more easily accessed of the two adjacent wet caves and apparently the one favored by Hawai`i's native bird species (and possibly the one kind of bat as well). Look but don't touch - the water is full of deadly bacteria just itching to eat some human.

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