Federal spending bill includes $250 million for Honolulu's transit-rail project

The $1.1 trillion federal spending bill that President Obama signed late last week will provide $250 million for the Honolulu transit-rail project, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) officials announced Friday.

Obama had requested the full $250 million for the project in his 2013 budget, HART officials said in an email.

"We continue to receive record levels of funding thanks in large part to the unwavering support and hard work of our congressional delegation," said HART Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Dan Grabauskas.

The $250 million is the fiscal-year 2014 share of HART's Full Funding Grant Agreement, which guarantees a total $1.55 billion in federal funds for the project over the next few years, officials said.

HART, Honolulu and federal officials signed the agreement in December 2012.

The latest funding installment will be added to the $560 million the project already has received from the federal government. The project calls for constructing a 20-mile transit-rail system from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.