Honolulu Rail Project Awaits New Funding Agreement
“Da Feds Ready fo’ Drop $125 Million Fo’ Honolulu Rail!”
Da Federal Transit Administration stay set fo’ seal da deal by da end of dis year wit da city, so we can finally let loose dat federal cash fo’ da Honolulu rail project.
Lori Kahikina, da boss lady o’ da Honolulu Authority fo’ Rapid Transportation, said on Friday dat FTA stay lookin’ fo’ sign one brand new Full Funding Grant Agreement wit da city by late December. Once dat ink dry, boom! We get $125 million in federal dollars, no more playin’ around!
Dis one big step fo’ da Honolulu project ’cause FTA been holdin’ back $744 million in federal funds since 2014, watchin’ da city struggle wit cost overruns and stayin’ behind schedule like one turtle in da race.
Dis new agreement between da city and FTA goin’ be da one dey revisit since 2012 when dey first signed ’em. Back den, da feds was gonna drop $1.55 billion to help build dis rail line, but oh boy, things wen’ change plenty since den.
Dis 20-mile elevated rail line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center wen’ start off thinkin’ it was gonna cost $5.1 billion, and dey figgahed it would be up and runnin’ by 2020. But, reality hit ’em like one big wave, and construction took way longer and cost way mo’ than planned. So da Legislature wen’ step in twice to bail out da project.
City wen’ make one bold move by cuttin’ one mile off da rail line, scrap two stations, and say “Aloha” to one 1,600-stall parking garage at Pearl Highlands. But even aftah all dat, HART stay sayin’ da whole system goin’ cost $9.93 billion, includin’ finance charges. Whew, das one heap o’ cash!
Dese changes dey wen’ make to da rail project wen’ make da feds raise dey eyebrows and say, “Hold up, we need one new agreement now!” More reviews and scrutiny, and back to da negotiating table.
HART wen’ hope dey could wrap up dis new grant agreement and start collectin’ dat federal cash last December, but looks like dey stay takin’ one year longer than dey thought.
HART board, dey still nevah seen dis new grant agreement, stay stuck waitin’ on da FTA.
Kahikina say da draft goin’ be ready for da HART group to check ’em out once U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg get ’em next month. But, even den, da document goin’ stay on da down low, confidential kine.
Dey say HART board gotta give “conditional approval” by Nov. 30, and Congress goin’ get da official notice same day. Den, da secret goin’ be out, braddah!
Da schedule stay little bit fuzzy ’bout whether da draft agreement goin’ be made public befo’ da HART board vote, but HART Board Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa shoot ’em straight, sayin’ if Congress get ’em early, da public goin’ see ’em early too.
Once da document go through da wringer, den it’s time fo’ da Honolulu City Council to look ’em over. Honolulu City Council Chairman Tommy Waters stay ready to skip da committee hearings and let da whole council weigh in on Dec. 6. Speedy, yeah?
Da schedule Kahikina put out dere say da council gotta give da thumbs up by Dec. 23, and FTA goin’ ink da deal by Dec. 29.
FTA say dey goin’ drop $125 million once dis new agreement lock down, and den anotha $250 million when HART finally pick one contractor fo’ da city center rail line and stations, from Middle Street to South Street. Hoo boy, dat’s some serious cash flow!
Dem project guys stay tellin’ us now dat we gotta wait ’til spring 2031 fo’ see da finish line on dis shorter rail route. We got 11 miles open already, but not too many folks jumpin’ on board yet.
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NOW IN ENGLISH
Honolulu Rail Project Awaits New Funding Agreement
๐ Da Feds Ready to Drop $125 Million for Honolulu Rail! ๐
๐๏ธ The Federal Transit Administration is all set to seal the deal by the end of this year with the city, so we can finally let loose that federal cash for the Honolulu rail project. ๐๏ธ
๐ฉโ๐ผ Lori Kahikina, the boss lady of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, said on Friday that FTA is looking for a sign of a brand new Full Funding Grant Agreement with the city by late December. Once that ink dries, boom! We get $125 million in federal dollars, no more playing around! ๐ฐ
๐ง This is one big step for the Honolulu project because FTA has been holding back $744 million in federal funds since 2014, watching the city struggle with cost overruns and staying behind schedule like a turtle in the race. ๐ข
๐ This new agreement between the city and FTA is going to be the one they revisit since 2012 when they first signed them. Back then, the feds were going to drop $1.55 billion to help build this rail line, but oh boy, things went change plenty since then. ๐
๐ This 20-mile elevated rail line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center started off thinking it was going to cost $5.1 billion, and they figured it would be up and running by 2020. But, reality hit them like one big wave, and construction took way longer and cost way more than planned. So the Legislature went step in twice to bail out the project. ๐๏ธ
๐ The city went make one bold move by cutting one mile off the rail line, scrapping two stations, and saying “Aloha” to one 1,600-stall parking garage at Pearl Highlands. But even after all that, HART stays saying the whole system is going to cost $9.93 billion, including finance charges. Whew, that’s one heap of cash! ๐ธ
๐ These changes they went make to the rail project made the feds raise their eyebrows and say, “Hold up, we need one new agreement now!” More reviews and scrutiny, and back to the negotiating table. ๐
๐๏ธ HART went hope they could wrap up this new grant agreement and start collecting that federal cash last December, but looks like they stay taking one year longer than they thought. ๐ฐ๏ธ
๐งพ HART board, they still never seen this new grant agreement, stay stuck waiting on the FTA. ๐ฆ
๐๏ธ Kahikina says the draft is going to be ready for the HART group to check them out once U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg gets them next month. But, even then, the document is going to stay on the down low, confidential kind. ๐คซ
๐ They say HART board gotta give “conditional approval” by Nov. 30, and Congress going to get the official notice the same day. Then, the secret is going to be out, braddah! ๐
๐ The schedule stays a little bit fuzzy about whether the draft agreement is going to be made public before the HART board vote, but HART Board Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa shoots them straight, saying if Congress gets them early, the public going to see them early too. ๐
๐ณ๏ธ Once the document goes through the wringer, then it’s time for the Honolulu City Council to look them over. Honolulu City Council Chairman Tommy Waters stays ready to skip the committee hearings and let the whole council weigh in on Dec. 6. Speedy, yeah? โฉ
๐ The schedule Kahikina put out there says the council gotta give the thumbs up by Dec. 23, and FTA is going to ink the deal by Dec. 29. ๐
๐ต FTA says they’re going to drop $125 million once this new agreement locks down, and then another $250 million when HART finally picks one contractor for the city center rail line and stations, from Middle Street to South Street. Hoo boy, that’s some serious cash flow! ๐ฐ
๐ Dem project guys stay telling us now that we gotta wait until spring 2031 to see the finish line on this shorter rail route. We got 11 miles open already, but not too many folks jumping on board yet. ๐
๐ฌ If you’d like to stay informed, sign up for our FREE morning newsletter. We’re going to help you stay woke! โ
๐ Oops, looks like that email’s not working. Try again, braddah. ๐ค
๐ Thanks, stay tuned! ๐ป