City and County of Honolulu

In the early to mid-1960s, the state and city governments jointly conducted the Oʻahu Transportation Study to map out future needs for transportation based on demographic projections through 1985. The plan identified the route of H-3 as the third trans-Koʻolau vehicle corridor.

In 1977, the City and County released an updated General Plan for Oʻahu. In contrast to the 1964 general plan, which anticipated future growth in both Leeward and Windward Oʻahu, the updated plan established the center of growth in Leeward Oʻahu. This change eliminated one of the arguments used to support the construction of H-3.

In 1982, the city opened Hoʻomaluhia Park, a 400-acre botanical garden in Kāne‘ohe that incorporated the Kāne‘ohe-Kailua Dam and the Loko Waimaluhia reservoir, which U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built to provide flood protection for Kāne‘ohe. Opponents of H-3, particularly Stop H-3 Association, seized on the proximity of the park to the route of H-3 and demanded that the state comply with Section 4(f) of the Transportation Act, which stated that federal highway funds could not be used for projects that involved park lands unless there was no feasible alternative. In November 1980, the U.S. Department of Transportation had approved a Section 4(f) statement for Hoʻomaluhia Park, but Judge King later set the statement aside.

In 1984, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation had not considered alternatives that would route H-3 away from the Pali Golf Course and Hoʻomaluhia Park. This ruling led to the successful effort by Hawai‘i’s congressional delegation to pass a law exempting H-3 from the requirements of Section 4(f).

Frank Fasi, who served as mayor from 1969-1981 and 1985-1994, opposed H-3 and wanted the funds allocated for the freeway to be applied to other transportation projects. However, in 1986, Governor Ariyoshi allowed the federal deadline for the transfer of H-3 funds to another project to pass without action, thereby committing the state to the completion of H-3.