Interstate highways are named so because they cross more than one
state. So does the inland waterway that goes from Virginia to Florida,
yet it is call an Intrastate waterway. Why the difference? Also, how
can an island (Hawaii) have Interstate highways?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 10 Oct 2005 06:31 PDT

Isn't it called the intraCOASTAL waterway...?

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Clarification of Question by capnjim-ga on 10 Oct 2005 08:03 PDT

Yes, sorry, it is the Intracoastal Waterway.

Hi CapnJim,

That's an excellent and very interesting question. As I type this, I'm
sitting in my condo less than 20 feet from the H1 freeway on the
island of O'ahu.

Hawaii has three "Interstate" highways. All are on the island of
O'ahu. Some cite a 4th (H-201) but the designation is rarely used. It
is believed these highways were originally funded to connect important
military facilities here on the island.

Any highway built under the auspices of the Federal Aid Highway Act of
1956 and funded by the federal government is called an interstate
highway, even if it doesn't cross any state lines. Believe it or not,
there are many "interstate" highways that lie entirely within a single
state funded by the Act. But those found in Hawaii generate most of
the interest (and humor).

Here's a website I think you might enjoy. It includes more details on
our highway system here:
http://www.hawaiianswers.com/index.php?page=index_v2&id=26&c=19
and here's a site that includes some photos of our amusing freeway signs:
http://www.hawaiihighways.com/Interstate-ends.html

Would you like to tap into Web Cams along our highways? Visit:
http://www.eng.hawaii.edu/Trafficam/

You'll also find the Waikiki beach live cam at:
http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/cameras/waikiki_beach/waikiki.htm

As you might guess, there are lots of jokes on this topic. I'm copying
one of my favorites below.

I hope you'll come visit my island sometime. And if you find an
on-ramp in California, let me know where it is! I have lots of friends
who are afraid to fly.

If I can dig up additional information for you, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks and Aloha, Robin :)
___

A man was walking along the beach and found a bottle. He looked around
and didn't see anyone so he opened the bottle. A genie appeared and
thanked the man for letting him out.
The genie said, "I am so grateful to get out of that bottle that I
will grant you one wish. I can only grant one." The man thought for a
while and finally said, "I have always wanted to go to Hawaii. I've
never been able to go because I cannot fly. Airplanes are much too
frightening for me. On a boat, I see all that water and I become very
claustrophobic. So I wish for a road to be built from here to Hawaii."

The genie thought for a few minutes and then said, "No, I don't think
I can do that. Just think of all the work involved. Consider all the
pilings needed to hold up a highway and how deep they would have to go
to reach the bottom of the ocean. Imagine all the pavement needed. No,
that is just too much to ask."

The man thought for a few minutes and then told the genie, "There is
one other thing I have always wanted. I would like to be able to
understand women. What makes them laugh and cry, why are they
temperamental, why are they so difficult to get along with. Basically,
what makes them tick."

The genie considered for a few minutes and said, "So, do you want two
lanes or four?"

Regarding Hawaii, this may be of interest to you:

http://www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=261015

"Inter" means "between" and "intra" means "within" (excuse me if you
already knew that).  So I can only guess that the waterway was named
by one state or the other.  Is it mostly within one state?  Was it
extended later to the other state?

You are right, that in interstate waterway would be one passing
through more than one state.  The tricky part is that what you are
asking about is the
"Intracoastal Waterway", that runs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts,
inside the barrier islands, sometimes as a canal.

http://members.aol.com/americacruising/aiww-south.html

So presumably, "Intra"coastal" because it is within (or inside) the coast.

If you ask me, yes.  I wonder if the whole project were to be
initiated today whether the people naming it would know to make the
distinction?

Pcrobin-ga,
If I hadn't heard the jokes before, I would have left your non-answer
uncommented.  What's it have to do with the Intra-Coastal Waterway?
Myoarin