Velora Kane messages us, with undue puzzlement: "I would love to know why there is a sign on the easternmost end of H-3, traveling west from the Marine base, just past the scenic lookout that simply says PEARL HARBOR. Nothing else, just a little green sign. I would hate to think our state highways division does not know the difference between Kaneohe Bay and Pearl Harbor." You can get there
from here
The deal is, H-3 is a federally funded highway. It's extremely hard to imagine, but H-3 doesn't just run between the Marine Base and Kamehameha Highway. No. It's actually longer. It runs all the way over the mountains and winds up . . . at Pearl Harbor! We've been fooled because the highway's been under construction since the Spanish-American War, and it ain't done yet.
The big federal dollars come in because H-3 is a defense corridor. Pearl Harbor needs to be protected by Marines, but most of the island's Marines are parked in Kaneohe. If the Rooskies or the Chi-Coms come howling ashore at Pearl Harbor and seize Bloch Arena, the harbor duty officer will give Kaneohe a call and the Marines will ride to the rescue. Going by Pali or Likelike would take too long, particularly on school days.
Anyway, that's the thinking that got the highway built. OK, it took awhile and the threat kind of evaporated. The Rooskies have been taken over by the Mafia and the Chi-Coms are building McDonald's Kid's Meal toys for us. But if the Republic of Kiribati ever gets uppity and invades Pearl Harbor, we're ready. That is, if the highway ever opens.
Burl Burlingame, Star-Bulletin.
