Interstate H-3

For the proposed Interstate Highway in Georgia and Tennessee, see Interstate 3.

Interstate H-3 marker
Interstate H-3
John A. Burns Freeway
Map
H-3 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by HDOT
Length15.32 mi[1] (24.66 km)
ExistedDecember 12, 1997–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
West end H-1 in Aiea
Major intersections H-201 in Halawa
East endMarine Corps Base Hawaii main gate
Location
CountryUnited States
StateHawaii
CountiesHonolulu
Highway system
← H-2→ Route 11

Interstate H-3 (H-3) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Hawaii on the island of Oʻahu. H-3 is also known as the John A. Burns Freeway, after the second governor of Hawaii. It crosses the Koʻolau Range along several viaducts and through the 5,165-foot-long (1,574 m) Tetsuo Harano Tunnels as well as the much smaller Hospital Rock Tunnels.

Despite the number, signage is that of an east–west highway. Its western terminus is at an interchange with H-1 at Halawa near Pearl Harbor. Its eastern end is at the main gate of Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH). This route satisfies the national defense purpose of connecting MCBH with the US Navy port at Pearl Harbor off H-1.

Orders for the freeway were granted in 1960, followed by planning stages. Construction, amid enormous community protest, was begun in the late 1980s, although the road did not open until December 12, 1997. Environmental complaints and legal challenges halted construction at many points. Construction resumed during the late 1980s after a move by US Senator Daniel Inouye, who, in 1986, had the freeway exempted from most environmental laws[2] as a rider on a Department of Defense budget bill.[3][4]

H-3 was the most expensive Interstate Highway ever built, on a cost-per-mile basis.[5] Its final cost was $1.3 billion (equivalent to $2.29 billion in 2023[6]), or approximately $80 million per mile ($50 million/km; equivalent to $141 million per mile [$88 million/km] in 2023[6]).[7]

  1. ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  2. ^ Hamasaki, Mark; Landgraf, Anne Kapulani (2015). Ē luku wale ē = Devastation upon devastation. Honolulu: Ai Pōhaku Press in association with Native Hawaiian Education Association.
  3. ^ "Senate Amendment 3116 to House Joint Resolution 738, 99th Congress". United States Congress. October 2, 1986. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "Amendment No. 55: Interstate Highway H-3". Making Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1987 (Conference Report to H.J. Res. 738). United States Government Printing Office. October 15, 1986. pp. 783–784. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ McNichol, Dan (2006). The Roads that Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System. New York: Sterling. p. 176. ISBN 9781402734687. OCLC 1152948489. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference HSB-Dec3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).