H-3 – A Brief History
Early years
Soon after statehood, the U.S. Congress passed a law–the 1960 Hawaiʻi Omnibus Act–that included Hawaiʻi in the National Interstate and Defense Highway system. Because the federal government paid for 90% of the planning and construction costs of freeways within the system, adding Hawaiʻi to the network qualified its “interstates” for significant federal funding. The H-3 was conceptualized in reports and studies from this time as a third route through the trans-Koʻolau corridor, connecting Kāneʻohe Naval Air Station and Pearl Harbor.
The state held the first public hearing on H-3 at Farrington High School on January 11, 1965. Opposition groups mobilized in the ensuing years and began filing lawsuits, primarily on the grounds that the state and federal governments had not complied with environmental and permitting rules and regulations. Opposition groups successfully blocked the freeway’s original route–through Moanalua Valley–because there were sites of historical and cultural significance within the valley. After the Moanalua route was rejected, the freeway was re-routed through Hālawa Valley.
Support and opposition
Supporters of the freeway argued that it would alleviate traffic problems on the Likelike and Pali highways, create jobs and support the construction industry, and be paid for primarily by the federal government. They also argued that it was vital to Hawaiʻi’s defense needs.
Opponents of the freeway argued that it would desecrate sacred sites, destroy productive banana farming land, disrupt view planes, not alleviate traffic problems, and encourage development on the windward side. They also argued that there were cheaper and/or better alternatives, such as mass transit; and that spending state funds on the freeway would take funding away from spending in other areas, such as education and social services.[1]
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, work on the freeway stopped and restarted as the state and opposition groups fought in court. In May 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the state had not adequately considered alternate routes that would have avoided the Pali Golf Course and Hoʻomaluhia Park, as required by section 4(f) of the Transportation Act. In light of this decision, the future of the freeway seemed uncertain.
1986 was a decisive year for the H-3. The federal government gave Hawaiʻi a deadline of September 30, 1986, to either commit to finishing H-3 (and risk losing all $716 million in federal funds if the project could not overcome legal challenges), or to transfer the federal funds to other transportation projects. At the same time, the Hawaiʻi congressional delegation, led by Senator Daniel K. Inouye, was working with the state to push a controversial amendment through Congress. The amendment sought to exempt H-3 from the requirements of section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966, thereby enabling work on the freeway to resume. When passage of the congressional exemption was assured, Governor Ariyoshi allowed the September 30 transfer deadline to pass.[2]
In addition to the culturally significant sites identified by the Moanalua Gardens Foundation, Bishop Museum and state archaeologists identified many sites on both the Kāneʻohe and Hālawa sides of the H-3 route, though some of their interpretations were contested. In 1987, for example, there was disagreement over whether a site in Luluku represented Kukuiokāne heiau or a dryland agricultural terrace, and where exactly it was located. In March 1990, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs approved a plan to bury the site in order to protect it.
In March 1992, Bishop Museum archaeologist Barry Nakamura shared his interpretation that two sites in Hālawa Valley were a luakini and hale o Papa complex. Nakamura charged the museum with covering up this information, and was subsequently fired. In April, Clara “Sweet” Matthews, Toni Yardley, Ella Paguyo, Dawn Wasson, and Gladys Puʻuloa began occupying Hālawa Valley at the site of what was believed to be the hale o Papa, or womenʻs temple. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that by May, over 2,000 people had hiked to the site. The freeway was re-routed to avoid the sites, and in August, when members of the Halawa Valley Coalition and the Women of Hale o Papa blocked the access road, preventing construction workers and concrete trucks from entering the site, they were arrested.
The H-3 opened to the public on December 12, 1997.
The H-3 today
Today, Nā Kūpuna a me nā Kākoʻo o Hālawa, the Luluku Farmersʻ Association, and Aloha ʻĀina Health and Learning Center have been designated as stewards of North Hālawa Valley and Luluku. The Koʻolau Foundation has been caring for Haʻikū and working to have the former U.S. Coast Guard Omega Station converted into a museum and event space.
