Honolulu transit-rail agency completes four miles of elevated guideway

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) yesterday finished constructing four miles of elevated guideway.

The recently completed stretch runs along Farrington Highway near Leoku Street in Waipahu.

Crews have now built more than 170 spans, which are the portions of guideway between two support columns, HART officials said in a press release. To date, 290 foundations have been completed, while 204 columns have been built.

The guideway segments are cast at the project's casting yard in Kapolei. Each segment weighs about 50 tons and requires about 12 segments. Around 3,290 segments have been cast in preparation for guideway construction.

Additionally, work continues at HART's 43-acre Rail Operations Center near Leeward Community College, while the first two rail cars are slated to arrive in Honolulu in first-quarter 2016. The cars currently are in Pittsburg, Calif.