The Hawaii Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request by the city to reconsider the court’s unanimous Aug. 24 ruling that stopped construction of the $5.26 billion rail project.

The court ruled in August that the State Historic Preservation Division violated its own rules when it allowed construction to begin before the city had completed an archaeological inventory survey for the entire 20-mile rail route.

The ruling also invalidated a special management area permit the city issued for the project.

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. sued the city in 2011 on behalf of Paulette Kaanohiokalani Kaleikini, challenging the city’s decision to conduct the archaeological survey in phases.

"We are grateful that the law as written, which provides iwi kupuna with the respect and protection they deserve, has been upheld," Ashley Obrey, an attorney with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said in a written statement Thursday.

The city stopped all construction in the wake of the August ruling, and has had crews working night and day for seven days a week in an effort to more quickly complete the archaeological survey work so construction can resume.

Each month of construction delays costs an estimated $7 million to $10 million, and Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Executive Director Daniel Grabauskas has said it may take nine months to complete the survey and restart construction.

Grabauskas issued a statement Thursday thanking the court on behalf of HART, and noted the city still believes that conducting the archaeological work in phases would reduce the impact of the rail project on historic sites and burials.

City officials contend that if they had been allowed to conduct the archaeological survey after the final design for the project is complete, the survey pits could be limited to only those areas where the city is certain there will be digging for construction.

By surveying earlier, the city contends digging for the survey pits might disturb sites that might later prove to be unnecessary for the project. The final design work is supposed to tell the city exactly where each support structure will be placed.

"In accordance with the ruling, we are currently accelerating our archaeological survey work, and that work is expected to be completed within the next several months," Grabauskas said.