In the early 1800s, travel between Honolulu and Windward O’ahu followed either a canoe trip around the island’s southern end or a crossing over the steep Ko’olau cliffs, with the pali trail serving as the quickest and most direct but also very steep and slippery route. Hawaiians traveled it with ease, while some foreigners found the passage frightening and difficult. The foot trail was heavily used by people carrying poi, taro, sweet potatoes, pigs, chickens, and goats to sell in Honolulu. In 1845, the crowded and dangerous path was paved with stone and widened to six feet, allowing travel to Honolulu on horse or mule in about three hours. Strong winds struck travelers at every turn, so a wooden railing was added, and the road became crowded with horse- and mule-drawn wagons carrying sugar, bananas, rice, and fish to market in Honolulu. In 1897, a new carriage road was built below the existing trail, with parts of the cliff blasted to create a twenty-foot-wide road supported by stone walls that wound around the mountain. That carriage road adapted to automobiles with little change until the 1950’s, when construction of the four-lane highway and its tunnels produced the route completed in 1957.