advertisement

---

On Monday, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave approval to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) to advance the Honolulu Rail Transit project to the next phase of construction.

The federal approval clears the way for additional construction on the first half of the elevated guideway from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, as well as work on the project’s maintenance and storage facility and three stations in Waipahu, HART officials said in a prepared statement. The $5.5 billion Honolulu Rail Transit project involves a 20-mile, 21-station elevated rail system that will connect East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center.

Work on foundations and columns is scheduled to begin soon. Last year, workers began relocating utilities along the Ewa portion of the rail route fro East Kapolei to Pearl City as part of preliminary construction.

“With revenues coming in higher than projected, and costs running below our estimates, the rail project is moving in the right direction,” said Damien Kim, chairman of the HART Project Oversight Committee. "Once completed, rail transit will be the heart of an efficient multi-modal transportation system to help deal with our island’s increasing traffic congestion in a way that is consistent with Oahu’s development plan.”