Honolulu rail project jobs increase in second quarter

Then number of jobs related to the Honolulu rail transit project grew to 1,238 — an increase of 93 jobs — during the second quarter, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) announced late last week.

The quarterly job counts include tallies from current contractors Kiewit InfrastructureWest Co., Ansaldo Honolulu JV, various architectural firms working for the project and HART staff.

More than 60 percent of the new jobs are local hires, and that number is expected to grow as the project progresses, said HART Executive Director and CEO Dan Grabauskas.

"The creation of rail jobs not only benefits those directly involved with the project, but generates revenue for other sectors of our local economy," he said.

The rail project is expected to create a peak of 4,000 direct jobs once the entire rail guideway and all 21 rail stations are under construction, HART officials said.

The first 10 miles of the system from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium is expected to open in 2017, with the full 20-mile line ready for service in 2019.