The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will sign a $1.55 billion full funding grant agreement (FFGA) with the City and County of Honolulu for its controversial light rail system by the end of this year.
“Today is truly a great day for the Honolulu rail project and the residents of Oahu as the FTA has informed Congress of its intention to sign the FFGA for $1.55 billion in federal money for the project,” said Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Executive Director/CEO Dan Grabauskas. “Many people deserve a lot of credit for helping the rail project achieve this long-awaited milestone. We want to especially thank those on the federal level — the FTA, the Obama Administration and our Hawaii congressional delegation led by Sen. Inouye – who worked tirelessly and closely with the city over the years throughout this funding approval process.”
The signing of the FFGA is the final step of the FTA’s New Starts federal funding process for new rail systems, and makes available $200 million to the Honolulu rail project for fiscal year 2012.