State Historic Bridge Inventory and Evaluation (2024 Update)

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STATE HISTORIC BRIDGE INVENTORY AND EVALUATION 2024 UPDATE The historic bridges of Hawaii are composed of several different material and structural types: masonry arch bridges (frequently constructed of local basalt, often referred to as lava rock); steel truss and stringer bridges;timber stringer bridges; and concrete solid-and open-spandrel arch bridges, deck girder bridges including tee beam types, flat slab bridges, and rigid-frame bridges. The most prevalent construction material for Hawaii's existing bridges is reinforced concrete since the corrosive nature of the salt air from the Pacific Ocean and the presence of insects makes the maintenance of steel and wooden bridges less practical than in the continental United States. Stone, sand, gravel, and lime are found in abundance in the islands; however, reinforcing steel was imported from the U.S. mainland. MASONRY ARCH BRIDGES ---- -*o° 11/60zu--N—owmama190011 ■tist —N--EN-- r4011 maw mop ► vrolmsFir 4P • �■ • � Spandrel �� FIGURE 2. MASONRY ARCH BRIDGE. Description Unreinforced masonry arch bridges are the most common remaining nineteenth-century bridge building technology and was among the first permanent bridge type constructed in the islands. Masonry arch bridges were constructed in Hawaii from approximately 1840, when the first recorded bridge was built, to 1904, when the Territory made it standard practice to use reinforced concrete for bridge building. These bridges were generally constructed in residential areas over small or intermittent streams along important transportation arteries. The remaining masonry arch bridges in Hawaii are generally small, single-span circular arches with solid spandrels, a span of fifteen to thirty feet and a relatively low-rise over the stream bed. Although usually quite narrow(eight to twelve feet)for wagon traffic, some examples are quite wide (such as the thirty-foot wide Mamalahoa-Pukihae Bridge and Mamalahoa- Kalalau Bridge), demonstrating forethought uncommon for its time. Masonry arch bridges in Hawaii are constructed of local basalt also known as lava rock. This material was commonly used as basalt rubble set in an ashlar pattern for the spandrel walls and parapets. Occasionally, carefully cut blocks with dressed margins were utilized for the parapets. Coursed blocks, twelve to twenty-four inches in diameter, were used for the arch ring, although rare examples of concrete or brick arch rings remain. Significance Stone was abundant in Hawaii, and stone arches at Nuuanu and Waikiki on the island of Oahu were among the first bridges constructed by the Kingdom of Hawaii's Interior Department in the 1840s. However, no known bridges constructed by the Kingdom remain. Masonry arch bridges continued to be constructed by the Republic of Hawaii, which was established between the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the annexation of Hawaii by the United States (1893-1898), and by the early Territorial government prior to the establishment of the county governments (1898-1904). The nineteenth-century bridges, built by the Republic of Hawaii, were generally constructed by prison labor and were part of the o¢ 18