Hawaii State Highway 61
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by HDOT | ||||
| Length: | 10.8 mi (17.4 km) | |||
| Existed: | early 1950s – present | |||
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| South end: |
 Route 98 in Honolulu
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 H-1 in Honolulu |
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| North end: | Hamakua Drive in Kailua | |||
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Hawaii Route 61, often called the Pali Highway, is the main highway connecting downtown Honolulu, Hawaii with the windward side of Oʻahu island. From downtown, it traverses up Nuʻuanu Valley and the residential neighborhood of Nuʻuanu, passes through the Nuʻuanu Pali Tunnels, and descends to the major windward communities of Kāneʻohe (reached by Kamehameha Highway, State Route 83) and Kailua.
The current Pali Highway is actually the third roadway to be built here. The original Pali "highway" went along much of the same route and portions of the old road still exist, although closed to vehicular traffic. When the current Pali Highway and its tunnels opened, the original roadway was closed and is now used by hikers. The "Old Pali Highway", as it is now called, is noted in the popular culture of Hawaii for being a place with strong spiritual connections. Many ghost stories have settings along this old highway. A large portion of the old highway was built over the ancient Hawaiian foot paths that traversed the famous Pali pass, which was the most easily accessible route to take from the Windward to Honolulu side. This was because much of the Koʻolau range on the Windward side has steep cliffs that make it nearly impossible to traverse over safely.
The highway was mentioned as an "awe-inspiring drive" in Car and Driver's "10 Best Drivers' Cities."
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Wikipedia