Route 137 is a state highway in

Hawaii County, Hawaii Hawaii County ( haw, Kalana o Hawaiʻi) (officially known as the County of Hawaii) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is coextensive with the Island of Hawaii, often called the "Big Island" to distinguish it from ...

. The highway, known as the Kapoho-Kalapana Road, the Beach Road, or the Red Road, travels along the eastern coast of the island of

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 stat ...

between Kalapana and Kapoho. It passes near

Kīlauea Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Hi ...

and its lava fields, as well as

Isaac Hale Beach Park Isaac Hale Beach Park ale is a Hawaiian surname, pronounced HAH-leh also known as Pohoiki, is an oceanfront park, boat launch and surf location on Pohoiki Bay in the Puna district of the Big Island of Hawaii. It was one of only a few places on ...

and other protected areas.

Route description

Route 137 travels along the Pacific Ocean, near the flat flanks of

, and through lava fields, as well as by

and other protected areas. Locally it is known as the Red Road, due to its long having been paved with Hawaiian volcanic red

cinder Cinder is an alternate term for scoria. Cinder or Cinders may also refer to: In computing *Cinder (programming library), a C++ programming library for visualization *Cinder, OpenStack's block storage component * Cyber Insider Threat, CINDER, a ...

; most of it was paved with black asphalt in 2000 but it is still called the Red Road. It is a designated

scenic byway A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints ...

, with picturesque tunnels of tropical trees and a variety of ocean vistas.

History

Several

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...

s from Kīlauea have crossed sections of the highway en route to the Pacific Ocean. The 1990 lava flow that destroyed Kalapana moved along Highway 137. During the

2018 lower Puna eruption The 2018 lower Puna eruption was a volcanic event on the island of Hawaiʻi, on Kīlauea volcano's East Rift Zone that began on May 3, 2018. It is related to the larger eruption of Kīlauea that began on January 3, 1983, though some volcanolog ...

of Kīlauea's East rift zone, a lava flow from Fissure 20 buried a section of Route 137 between Kamaili Road and Pohoiki Road and flows from Fissure 8 flowed east across and along

Hawaii Route 132 The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) maintains the smallest state-maintained system of state highways in the country. It consists of Interstates, state highways, and secondary state highways, totaling approximately . The state's four I ...

, cutting more of Route 137 in the vicinity of Kapoho.

Major intersections

Appearances in art

Artist

Arthur Johnsen Arthur Johnsen (August 27, 1952 – November 15, 2015) was an American artist. Born and raised on Oahu and living most of his post-university life on the Big Island of Hawaii, he is known for his impressionistic paintings and murals of Hawaiiana. ...

(1952–2015), a resident of Lower Puna, depicted vistas of the Red Road in numerous ''

plein-air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

'' impressionistic oil paintings. Many of these paintings were anthologized by the

East Hawaii Cultural Center The East Hawaii Cultural Center (EHCC) is an art gallery, community theater, and cultural center in downtown Hilo, Hawaii. EHCC features regular art exhibitions with free or suggested donation entry to the general public. Administered by the Ea ...

and the Hawaii Museum of Contemporary Art, in a 2014 book titled ''Paintings of the Red Road by Arthur Johnsen''.

References

External links

*
HWY 137 – Red Road Scenic Byway, Kapoho–Kaimu – Corridor Management Plan 2015
0137 Transportation in Hawaii County, Hawaii Scenic highways in the United States {{hawaii-road-stub