Honolulu’s plans for a rail line gained new momentum Monday with an announcement by Hawaii’s congressional delegation that the $5.26 billion train project has effectively secured $1.55 billion in federal funding.
That federal commitment, which is to be formalized with the signing of a Full Funding Grant Agreement by the end of this year, amounts to slightly more than 30 percent of the total funding required to construct the 20-mile elevated rail line.
The announcement Monday was triggered by a notification from the Federal Transit Administration to Congress that the FTA plans to sign the formal funding agreement with the city as early as next month.
Once the agreement is signed, the city will immediately receive $200 million infederal rail funding from the 2012 budget, according to an announcement from U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
To provide full funding for the project, federal lawmakers will have to appropriate $230 million to $250 million per year over the next five fiscal years. The city has already received about $120 million. History suggests the city is likely to actually receive that federal funding once the agreement is signed because Congress has never yet failed to fund an approved FFGA, city officials say.
"This is an important step toward providing federal funding for the Honolulu rail transit project," said Inouye said in a news release Monday. Inouye thanked federal officials including President Barack Obama for committing to help build the rail system from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.
The rail line "will alleviate traffic congestion, lessen our dependence on imported fossil fuels and provide our residents, in particular those living in West Oahu, with a much needed alternative to driving," Inouye said in the statement.
Those remarks were immediately criticized by longtime rail opponent Cliff Slater, who noted the city’s own projections show traffic congestion will increase even with rail as Oahu’s population grows.
"It’s very, very disappointing to have Sen. Inouye start talking about how this will relieve traffic congestion when he knows this is one thing that it will not do," Slater said.
City officials acknowledge traffic will increase but say congestion would be even worse without rail.
Slater pointed out that the rail project still faces state and federal court challenges, and "they take precedence over the money." He said he thinks a federal judge will issue an injunction next month requiring that the city stop work on the project.
If that happens, "they may get the money but they can’t spend it," Slater said.
Construction was interrupted in August after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the city should have completed an archaeological survey of the entire 20-mile rail route before construction began.
The city has responded by accelerating the survey work, which should be finished early next month to clear the way for construction to resume.
The city will be back in court on Dec. 12 in a separate rail challenge when federal Judge A. Wallace Tashima considers how to resolve problems with the environmental and historic review process for rail.
Tashima ruled earlier this month that the city failed to complete an inventory of traditional cultural properties along the rail route, and also failed to properly consider the potential impact of the rail project on Mother Waldron Park in Kakaako. Tashima also ruled that the city failed to fully consider the possibility of building a rail tunnel under Beretania Street.
Rail opponents including Slater are expected to seek an injunction that prevents the city from resuming work on the project until those issues are resolved.
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Executive Director Daniel Grabauskas said the court cases won’t stop rail.
"No roadblocks have been put in our place as a result of the court cases," he said. "Perhaps a detour and a little extra work we need to do, but no roadblock. That’s ultimately what the FTA was able to determine. Therefore, they were able to say, ‘We’ve already looked at your cost and schedule base line, and it’s in very good shape.’"
Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle said Monday’s announcement that the FTA is ready to sign a grant agreement with the city "is the best holiday gift the citizens of Honolulu could possibly receive — the lean, clean, smart city of the future."
Carlisle said the $250 million appropriation for Honolulu that Obama included in the proposed FY2013 budget is the single largest amount for any New Starts project in the United States. (The FTA’s discretionary New Starts and Small Starts program is the government’s main financial resource for supporting locally planned and operated transit "guideway" capital investments.)
Inouye promised to work "in a bipartisan fashion" with other members of Congress to win continued funding for the project.
When asked by the media what message he would give to rail opponents, Carlisle said, "Rail is on the way. We’ve got the money. Get out of the way."
The letter from FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff "shows that federal government is confident the rail project is financially sound and has a realistic construction schedule," U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka said in a written statement. "By providing a new option for Oahu commuters to avoid traffic congestion, rail will save families time and money and will reduce pollution in the air we breathe. I look forward to the rail project’s completion."
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Star-Advertiser reporter Rosemarie Bernardo contributed to this story.
