Why Are There Interstate Highways In Hawaii? – ‘The Why’

Welcome to the newest edition of The Why.

Everywhere you look the media is pushing you telling you who to follow, what to watch and when to watch it.   You’re even sometimes told how to do it all.  Truth is, here at American Live Wire we do a bit of that too.  The big difference is we also tell you why.

You ask the questions.  We provide the answers.

“Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii?” you ask?

Good question. The question arises because some of us take the English language a bit too seriously apparently.   After all, the word “interstate” is defined as “existing between or including different States”. For some reason the mention of interstates in Hawaii turns everyone into Linguist Nazis.

Interstate H-1 / Image: AARoads

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii? There are Interstates in Hawaii because even though the Interstate routes there are obviously not physically connected to the continental routes they are nonetheless a part of it.

Hawaii became a state in 1959. Shortly after that a government study was conducted to determine the need for Interstate routes there. The next year Congress recommended a 50-mile Interstate network in Hawaii. The Hawaii Omnibus Act, which was signed by President Eisenhower, removed the legal limitation that “the Interstate System be designated only within the continental United States.”

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii? They are there because the Interstate System is not only a group of connected freeways. It’s also an actual ‘design concept” in which the highways are built to deal with “high volumes of traffic” in a safe and efficient manner and “at freeway speeds.”

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii? / Image: QuickMeme

They are all constructed to Interstate standards. Additionally, the Interstate System isn’t restricted to routes which go through multiple states. A lot of them such as spurs and circumferential beltways are located within a single state.

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii? They are there because they were constructed through the sponsorship of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. Since they were funded by the federal government they are considered Interstate highways.

Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii? Now you know.

You ask the questions.  We provide the answers.

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