Route 56, also known as Kuhio Highway, is the main highway on the north and east shore of
Kauaii island in
Kauai County
Kauai County ( haw, Kalana o Kauaʻi) (officially known as the County of Kauai) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Kauai, Niihau, Lehua, and Kaula. As of the 2020 Census the population was 73,298. The county ...
,
Hawaii
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 state ...
, United States.
Route description
Route 56 runs , stretching from
Hawaii Route 50
Route 50 is a road that stretches from Route 56 at the junction of Rice Street in Lihue to a point approximately 1/5 mile north of the northernmost entrance of the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the western shore of Kauai. It is the longest ...
at the junction of Rice Street in
Lihue
Lihue or Līhue is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 2010 ...
to the junction of
Hawaii Route 560
Route 560, or Kaua'i Belt Road-North Shore section, is a scenic road on the northern shore of the Kauai, island of Kauai in Hawaii. The entire belt road is signed as the Kuhio Highway. Hawaii Route 56 was once signed on this route before it was ...
in
Princeville on the island of Kauaii. The road is named for Prince
Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole
Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...
, a territorial delegate to Congress after Hawaii's annexation by the United States.
The road is a major thoroughfare for the eastern and northern parts of Kauaii. Leaving Lihue, the road passes through the only
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
and the major hospital on the island. The road connects with
Hawaii Route 51
Route 51 is a three-mile (5 km) road that stretches from the junction Wapaa Road with Route 58 at the Nawiliwili Harbor in Lihue to Route 56 north of Lihue on The Garden Isle.
Route description
After the junction with Wapaa Road, Route 51 ...
to
Lihue Airport
Lihue Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in the Līhue CDP on the southeast coast of the island of Kauai in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States, two nautical miles east of the center of the CDP.
The airport does not serve as ...
. Following the intersection the road briefly passes through some rural patches with the occasional resort before crossing the
Wailua River. At the Wailua River, there is a two lane southbound bridge and also a two lane northbound bridge. A bridge expansion was completed in 2011. Going through
Wailua and
Kapaa, Hawaii 56 is jammed in the morning and the afternoon. Contra flow alleviates rush hour traffic in the morning between Kapaa and Lihue Airport. The southbound lane gets two lanes in the morning to alleviate traffic pressures. Contra flow traffic starts at 6:00 AM on weekdays and 8:00 AM Saturday. Traffic is switched back to normal starting from the north at 11:00 am weekdays and 1:30 pm on Saturday. The traffic pressure dissipates going through some of the most gorgeous scenic countryside with few services and buildings from Kapaa heading towards Princeville. The bridge over the Kalihiwai river west of Kilauea is particularly scenic.
Major intersections
See also
*
List of state highways in Hawaii
*
List of highways numbered 56
References
External links
Roads of Kauai
Transportation in Kauai County, Hawaii
0056
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