HART Board Approves A New Honolulu Rail Plan For A Shorter Route….Ridership on the truncated line would be nearly 30% less than previous estimates, but the city would complete the system to South Street by 2031.
The board of directors for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation approved a proposed new recovery plan for the troubled city rail project on Friday that envisions a shorter rail line that ends on South Street, and would cost nearly $10 billion.
HART Executive Director Lori Kahikina emphasized the city is still committed to extending the rail line to Ala Moana Center as the city has planned and promised for the past decade, but after years of cost overruns HART does not have the money at the moment to reach that goal.
The Federal Transit Administration, which pledged $1.55 billion to help finance the rail project, set a deadline of June 30 for the city to produce an acceptable recovery plan. The plan will now be submitted to the Honolulu City Council, and Kahikina said she is hoping the council’s Transportation, Sustainability and Health Committee will take it up on May 24.
