The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation on Thursday approved $25.9 million to cover additional costs to a contractor because of a delay in construction prompted by a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling.

The approval of the change order is the first for what HART estimates to be $7 million a month in costs for construction delays.

It covers part of the costs to Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. for six of the 12 months that HART is assuming will be the length of the delay.

HART officials say the approval is fair because it locks in the actual additional costs the contractor incurred for the six months and avoids later disputes about that amount.

HART and Kiewit are in negotiations on the amount of other costs the company attributes to the delay.

Construction for the $5.26 billion project spanning 20 miles from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center was halted after the state high court ruling in August.

The court held that the State Historic Preservation Division violated its rules in allowing the project to proceed without first completing an archaeological survey of the entire route.