Skip to main content

Admiral Clarey Bridge, Naval Station Pearl Harbor

By

The Admiral Clarey Bridge is a pontoon structure which connects Hawaii Route 99 (the Kamehameha Highway) on the Island of O'ahu over the waters of Naval Station Pearl Harbor to Navy owned Ford Island.  The Admiral Clarey Bridge is not directly accessible to the public aside from access granted by way of tours to Pearl Harbor National Memorial.  The Admiral Clarey Bridge is commonly referred to as the Ford Island Bridge.

This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below:

https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html


The background and development of the Admiral Clarey Bridge

Ford Island came under control of United States Congress in Reciprocity Treaty of 1875.  The Reciprocity Treaty had a seven year term between the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii.  Upon the expiration of the Reciprocity Treaty the United States did not renew their lease on Ford Island but would begin to lease the waters of Pearl Harbor beginning during January of 1887.  Ford Island was purchased by the John Papa ʻĪʻī  estate in 1891 during the run up to the Kingdom of Hawaii being overthrown during 1893.  Hawaii was formally annexed as a territory of the United States during August of 1898.  

The Oahu Sugar Company began to harvest sugar on Ford Island beginning in 1899 via property lease.  Ultimately the John Papa ʻĪʻī  estate would agree to sell portions of Ford Island to the United States government for the construction of an Army Airfield during 1917.  Additional to the land purchases the John Papa ʻĪʻī  estate leased segments of Ford Island for the construction of Battery Boyd and Battery Henry Adair.  During 1917 the 6th Aero Squadron was created and designated to the Ford Island.  Most of the Airfield facilities on Ford Island were completed by 1918 and it was designated as Luke Field by 1919.  

Naval Station Pearl Harbor was commissioned during December of 1919 but did not displace the Army from Ford Island.  Over the coming decades the Navy began to slowly displace the around Ford Island which was largely spurred by the construction of Hickiam Army Field beginning in 1936.  Hickiam Army Airfield was completed during 1939 which ultimately led to Ford Island being transferred to the Navy as Naval Station Ford Island.  During September of 1939 an emergency proclamation spurred the development of new facilities on Ford Island in anticipation of war.  Despite the calls for improved infrastructure Ford Island remained only accessible by way of boat or ferry over the waters of Pearl Harbor.

On December 7th, 1941 seven battleships were moored on Battleship Row of Ford Island; USS California, USS Maryland, USS Oklahoma, USS Tennessee, USS West Virginia, USS Arizona and USS Nevada.  All seven battleships along with Ford Island were heavily damaged during the surprise Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor.  The Oklahoma and most notably the Arizona were total losses.  In the case of the sinking of the Arizona 1,177 officers and enlisted personnel were killed in the Japanese attacks. 

Ford Island can be seen on at the height of military presence on O'ahu on the 1946 Army Day Map.  

Following World War II the U.S. Pacific Fleet established the Fleet Intelligence Center, Pacific on Ford Island during 1955.  Ford Island Naval Air Station was decommissioned during 1966 and became part of Naval Station Pearl Harbor.  During early 1970 Naval Auxiliary Field Ford Island opened which was opened to civilian flight training operations.  The United States Third Fleet would move their headquarters to Ford Island during 1973 and remained there until 1991.  

Construction of the Admiral Clarey Bridge began January 10th, 1996 and was part of a $500,000,000 dollar investment into the upgrading of Ford Island.  The Admiral Clarey Bridge was completed during early 1998 and dedicated on April 15th.  The Admiral Clarey Bridge replaced the ferryboats Moko Holo Hehe and Waa Hele Honoa (pictured below). 

The Admiral Clarey Bridge features a total length of 4,672 feet and mostly notably a moveable 930 foot pontoon span.  The pontoon span of the Admiral Clarey Bridge allows access for the largest Naval battleships and aircraft carriers.  The namesake Admiral Bernard Clarey served in the United States Navy circa 1934-1973.  Admiral Clarey is most well known for being the Vice Chief of Naval Operations during the 1960s and Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet during the early 1970s.  

On July 1st, 1999 civilian air traffic Naval Auxiliary Field Ford Island was ceased after the closure of Naval Air Station Barbers Point.  Ford Island is now part of the Pacific Warfighting Center which broke ground in August of 2007.  Most civilian traffic on the Admiral Clarey Bridge uses utilizes it via tour bus to access the Pearl Harbor National Memorial sites of; the USS Missouri, USS Utah and Pacific Aviation Museum.  

Below the Admiral Clarey Bridge can be seen from Pearl Harbor National Memorial at the submarine USS Bowfin.




The Admiral Clarey Bridge from the ferry boat to the USS Arizona Memorial.








The Admiral Clarey Bridge from the USS Arizona Memorial.  


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hawaii Route 8930

By
Hawaii Route 8930 is a 2.5-mile State Highway on the Island of O'hau.  Hawaii Route 8930 is aligned over Kualakai Parkway over the course of its entire alignment south from Interstate H-1 to Kapolei Parkway.  Hawaii Route 8930 is one of the newest Hawaii Routes only having been completed during 2010.   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 8930 The history of Hawaii Route 8930 is brief given it is a modern facility.  Hawaii Route 8930 and what was known as "North-South Road" were built to facilitate the developing areas of Kapolei on western O'ahu.  According to hawaiihighways.com the first stage of Hawaii Route 8930 was completed from Kapolei Parkway north to Farrington Highway as a four-lane highway during November...
Post a Comment
Read more

Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road

By
Madera County Road 607 is an approximately seven-mile rural unsurfaced highway which spans from Road 600 near Raymond west to Road 29.   Road 607 west from Raymond Road Cemetery (established in 1905) is part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road corridor surveyed in 1853. The corridor lies in the gap between Fresno Crossing at the Fresno River west to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River. The Buchanan Copper Mine would be along what is now Road 607 in the namesake Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity at Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The last businesses in the community would shutter during World War II and it is now a true ghost town. Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road What is now Road 607 was a component of the larger Sto...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

By
Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California.  According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932.  US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley.  LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes.  The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...
3 comments
Read more