Hawaii Route 232 was a portion of the original routing of Hawaii Route 19 along Mamalahoa Highway in the community of Ookala. Hawaii Route 19 moved to the grade of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway which bypassed Ookala during late 1950s. Old Mamalahoa Highway was reactivated during the early 1960s as Hawaii Route 232 to provide a state highway corridor to the community business district. Ultimately this corridor was short lived as it was recommended for deletion in 1967.
The history of Hawaii Route 232
Ookala was established in as a siding of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway Hamakua Division. Much of Mamalahoa Highway on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island acted as frontage of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway Hamakua Division. The railroad took the best grade alignments possible north from Hilo to Paaulio. The first phase of the Hamakua Division opened between Hilo and Hakalau by 1911. The line was extended north to Paaulio by 1913. The Hamakua Division was an impressive effort which required installation of 35 bridges and 3 tunnels.
Mamalahoa Highway was declared by royal decree in 1783 via the Law of the Splintered Paddle. The law was conceived based off an incident Kamehameha I was part of along the Puna coast. During said incident Kamehameha I and his men were conducting a shoreline raid when they encountered two Puna fisherman. While pursuing the fisherman across a lava field one of Kamehameha's feet was caught in a rock. The fishermen seized upon the opportunity to retaliate and struck Kamehameha in the head with a wooden paddle.
Kamehameha opted to not retaliate against the fisherman and used the incident as the basis of the Law of the Splintered Paddle. The law essentially guaranteed safe passage to all travelers across the Hawaiian Islands and was used as a basis of Mamalahoa Highway on the Big Island. The highway corridor was rapidly developed across the Big Island and was mostly annexed as early automotive roads.
Ookala can be seen along the Mamalahoa Highway and Hamakua Division on the 1915 United States Geological Survey map of Hamakua.
Much of the Hamakua Division was destroyed by a tsunami on April 1, 1946. The division was abandoned by the Hawaii Consolidated Railway during December 1946. Sugar plantation owners attempted to repurpose intact portions of the line north of the Wailuku River, but all were also abandoned by late 1948.
One of the first portions of the Hamakua Division to be repurposed as part of a realigned Mamalahoa Highway came in 1950. During said year the right-of-way in Hilo was used as the basis for Bayfront Highway. The Wailuku River Bridge piers were reused for construction of a new highway bridge which removed significant amounts of traffic north/south from downtown Hilo.
In 1955 the Hawaii Route System was modified and expanded to the Big Island. The northern half of Mamalahoa Highway from Kailua-Kona to Hilo was assigned Hawaii Route 19. The early routing of Hawaii Route 19 can be seen on the 1959 Gousha Map of Hawaii. As originally configured Hawaii Route 19 began at Hawaii Route 11 at the intersection of Kaukina Highway/Palani Road in Kailua-Kona and ended at Hawaii Route 12 at the intersection of Kamehameha Avenue/Kanoelehua Avenue in Hilo.
Early Hawaii Route 19 was carried through Ookala via Mamalahoa Highway. The current alignment can be seen under construction in Ookala following the grade of Hamakua Division on the 1957 United State Geological Survey map of Kukaiau. The modern alignment of Hawaii Route 19 in Ookala is a divergence of the Hamakua Division grade as it strays south of the community.
The final segment of the Old Mamalahoa Highway on the northern side of the Big Island and Hamakua Coast was replaced with a modern highway in September 1963. Mamalahoa Highway within Ookala was reactivated as the 0.9-mile Hawaii Route 232 during the early 1960s. This designation more or less provided a direct Hawaii Route connection to central business district of Ookala. Ultimately Hawaii Route 232 was short lived as it was recommended for deletion in a 1967 Hawaii Department of Transportation document.
Below the beginning of former Hawaii Route 232 can be seen as Hawaii Route 19 approaches Old Mamalahoa Highway.
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