The transportation system of Hawaii is a cooperation of complex systems of infrastructure.

Background

Transit systems

Rail

At one time, Hawaii had a network of railroads on each of the larger islands that helped move farm commodities as well as passengers. These railroads were all narrow gauge for the majority although there were some gauge on some of the smaller islands – standard US gauge is ). The largest by far was the

Oahu Railway and Land Company The Oahu Railway and Land Company, or OR&L, was a narrow gauge common carrier railway that served much of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and was the largest narrow gauge class one common carrier in the U.S, until its dissolution in 1947. Origin T ...

(OR&L) which ran multiple lines from

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

across the western and northern part of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

. The OR&L was an important player moving troops and goods during World War II. Traffic on this line was busy enough that there were signals on the lines facilitating movement of trains and wigwag signals at some railroad crossings for the protection of motorists. The mainline was officially abandoned in 1947, although part of it was bought by the US Navy and operated until 1970. Thirteen miles (21 km) of track remain and preservationists occasionally run trains over a portion of this line.

Bus

Each major island has a public bus system.

Roads and freeways

A system of state highways encircles each main island. Only Oahu has federal highways, and is the only area outside the contiguous 48 states to have signed Interstate highways. Travel can be slow due to narrow winding roads, and congestion in cities.

Bridges and tunnels

* Admiral Clarey Bridge, also known as the Ford Island Bridge, is a floating concrete drawbridge providing access to

Ford Island Ford Island ( haw, Poka Ailana) is an islet in the center of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has been known as Rabbit Island, Marín's Island, and Little Goats Island, and its native Hawaiian name is ''Mokuumeume''. The is ...

, a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

installation situated in the middle of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

. The causeway bridge was completed and opened in 1998, named the Admiral Clarey Bridge after former Admiral Bernard A. Clarey. The bridge has a total length of , including a pontoon section that can be retracted to allow water traffic to pass through. * Hospital Rock Tunnels are a small pair of highway

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s passing through a ridge on the edge of the Ko‘olau Range on the island of

O‘ahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, USA. The tunnels are located on Interstate H-3, which connects Kaneohe with Interstate H-1 at Hālawa near

, and are long Kaneohe bound and long

Halawa Halawa () is a census-designated place (CDP) in the ‘Ewa District of Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. Halawa Stream branches into two valleys: North and South Halawa; North Halawa is the larger stream and fluvial feature. Their conflue ...

bound. The tunnels are "cut and cover" tunnels. * John H. Wilson Tunnels are a pair of highway

s passing through the Ko‘olau Range on the island of

. The tunnels are located on Likelike Highway (Route 63), which connects Kāneʻohe with

, and are 2775 feet (845.8 m) long westbound and 2813 feet (857.4 m) long eastbound. * Nu‘uanu Pali Tunnels are a set of four highway

s (two in each direction) on the Pali Highway (Hawaii State Highway 61) which pass through the Nuuanu Pali. These tunnels serve as one of three trans-Koolau routes between Honolulu (leeward Oahu) and the communities of windward Oahu. Also, the Nuuanu Pali Tunnels serve as a major transportation route from Kaneohe & Kailua over to Honolulu. * Tetsuo Harano Tunnels are a pair of highway

s passing through the Ko‘olau Range on the island of

. The tunnels are located on Interstate H-3, which connects Kaneohe with Interstate H-1 at Hālawa near

, and are long Kaneohe-bound and long

-bound.

Private automobiles

Ferries

Private steamships and ferries were the sole way of traveling between the islands from the 19th century until the 1950s. Seaflite operated hydrofoils between the major islands between 1975 and 1978. The Hawaii Superferry operated between Oahu and Maui between December 2007 and March 2009, with additional routes planned for other islands. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and protests ended the service, though the company operating Superferry has expressed a wish to begin ferry service again at a future date. Currently there is passenger ferry service in

Maui County Maui County, officially the County of Maui, is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Maui, Lānai, Molokai (except for a portion of Molokai that comprises Kalawao County), Kahoolawe, and Molokini. The latter two a ...

between Moloka'i and Maui, and between Lana'i and Maui, though neither of these takes vehicles.

Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...

also provides passenger

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

service between the islands.

Pedestrians, and bicycles

Airports

Honolulu International Airport Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main airport of Oahu, Hawaii.Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The airl ...

Mokulele Airlines Southern Airways Express, doing business as Mokulele Airlines, is an American commuter airline operating in Hawaii. The airline operates scheduled inter-island and charter flights among all Hawaiian islands with airports. Mokulele Airlines was ...

and go! use jets between the larger airports in Honolulu, Līhue, Kahului, Kona and Hilo, while Island Air and

Pacific Wings Pacific Wings Airline was an American commuter airline headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, United States in Greater Phoenix. The airline operated flights under the brands New Mexico Airlines in New Mexico, GeorgiaSkies in Georgia, TennesseeSkies ...

serve smaller airports. These airlines also provide air freight service between the islands.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transportation In Hawaii Transportation planning