FTA issues new ultimatum on Honolulu rail project

HONOLULU — In a letter, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) set a deadline for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) to update its road map to rescue the light rail project financially so that it reflects the FTA’s new, higher cost estimate for rail, the Honolulu Civil Beat reports.

The FTA’s estimate puts rail’s price tag at $8.3 billion, which is $134 million more than the city’s budget estimate. HART now needs to find that additional money in the next 60 days.

The letter also asks that HART and the city decide in the next 30 days whether it will use a public-private partnership to complete rail’s final and most challenging stretch into town. It also demands the city commit its first $44 million contribution to rail, as outlined in the 2017 recovery plan, sometime in the next 60 days.

If HART and the city miss those deadlines, the FTA “may proceed with the remedies set forth” in its 2012 full funding grant agreement, the letter stated. For the full story, click here.