4 Hawaii roads nominated as Hawaii Scenic Byways

The number of designated Hawaii Scenic Byways will double if three Oahu roadways and one on Hawaii island are approved for the program, which showcases roads that have a story to tell.

An advisory committee will convene Tuesday to consider adding scenic byways in picturesque locations in Hawaii Kai, Waikiki and Diamond Head, and in Puna on Hawaii island.

The state scenic byways designation, which is modeled after a federal program, helps recognize, preserve and enhance significant roads.

"We’ve had more groups apply this year than any other," said Dave Zevenbergen, Hawaii Scenic Byways coordinator for the state Department of Transportation’s Highways Division, which joined the federal byways program in 2009.

The Hawaii island highway under consideration is the storied Red Road, or "Kuka ‘Ehu Ala." The application from Kalani Honua says Highway 137 is called the Red Road because much of it was originally paved with red cinder. The designation would cover roughly a 15-mile stretch of the highway that passes historic lava fields, state parks, a forest preserve and a marine sanctuary.

The efforts on Oahu are led by:

» The Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board, which submitted an application for the "Maunalua-Makapu‘u Scenic Byway," a 6.8-mile stretch of Kalanianaole Highway from Hawaii Kai Drive to the Makai Research Pier.

» The Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA), which is spearheading the effort to have a "Kauhale o Ho‘okipa Scenic Byway" in Waikiki.

» The Diamond Head State Monument Foundation, along with Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, Scenic Hawaii, the Oahu Island Parks Conservancy and The Outdoor Circle, which are supporting a designated scenic byway that would encircle Diamond Head.

The state already has three scenic byways on Hawaii island — the Mamalahoa Kona Heritage Corridor, Royal Footsteps Along the Kona Coast, and the Ka‘u Scenic Byway — the Slopes of Mauna Loa.

On Kauai the Holo Holo Koloa Scenic Byway highlights historical and cultural sites on the first Hawaiian Island sighted by European explorers.

Zevenbergen said scenic byways are listed as such nationally, and the designation opens the door to national, private and state grants, including Hawaii Tourism Authority funds that can be used to access resources and to preserve, enhance and promote the areas.

While Hawaii doesn’t have any federally designated byways, it is significant to have state byways on the national list, which features about 150 of the country’s most scenic routes in 46 states.

The Federal Highway Administration’s Scenic Byways Program recognizes certain roads that have archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways. The Pacific Region alone has 28 national byways, including such scenic routes as Alaska’s Marine Highway, California’s Big Sur Coast Highway and Death Valley Scenic Byway, Washington’s Chinook Scenic Byway and Oregon’s Mount Hood Scenic Byway.

"I expect that we’ll eventually get some national scenic byways in Hawaii," Zevenbergen said. "Some of our state scenic byway coordinators are eager to proceed" in that direction.

Since 1992 the national program has provided funding for about 3,174 projects, including two in Hawaii. In 2009 the Mamalahoa Kona Heritage Corridor, the state’s first scenic byway, was awarded $29,140 to develop a corridor management plan. In 2012 some $37 million was awarded to federal and state scenic byways, including $78,000 to Hawaii to design, manufacture and install directional and byway identification signage throughout its four state byways on the Big Island and Kauai.

Olomana Loomis ISC was awarded a contract in April to create the logo and signage design for Hawaii’s byways, Zevenbergen said. Signs will be at entry, exit and other key points along the byways, giving travelers a safer means of navigating the roads, he said.

Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board Chairman Greg Knudsen said supporters of an East Oahu byway hope that the designation will spur residents and visitors to preserve and protect the region’s vast cultural, historic and natural resources.

"We want people to join us in preserving this route now and forever," Knudsen said. "As the island of Oahu continues to be heavily developed, the eastern end of the island becomes even more valuable to residents and visitors alike as a welcome respite from the high-density urbanized landscape that covers much of the island."

Knudsen said the East Oahu route, which has already been featured in Oahu guidebooks and is listed among National Geographic’s best U.S. drives, is truly breathtaking.

"We have sweeping vistas of Maunalua Bay, Koko Crater and Koko Head, Hanauma Bay, the rugged Ka Iwi coastline, Halona Blowhole, Sandy Beach, Ka Iwi State Scenic Shoreline, Makapuu Lighthouse Trail, Makapuu Lookout, Makapuu Beach Park, Rabbit Island, Kaupo Beach Park, Sea Life Park, Oceanic Institute and Makai Research Pier," Knudsen said.

While surfboard markers already designate 23 points of historic interest in Waikiki, NaHHA President John Aeto said establishing the region as a scenic byway could provide funding to make them interactive. EJ Paterson, who is part of a coalition of residents along Highway 137, said obtaining scenic byway designation was a 2013 goal in Puna’s community development plan.

While the beauty of the rural coastal road is undeniable, Paterson said many residents and visitors lack understanding of its historical and cultural significance.

"There’s a large Hawaiian community here," she said. "As new people come, we want the community to gather as a whole. Change will occur, but we need to manage it so that we keep all our communities together."