9th Circuit to consider rail appeal in August

Plaintiffs in the federal case seeking to stop Hono­lulu’s elevated rail project said they were encouraged Friday by a federal court’s decision to expedite their appeal.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is now scheduled to hear the rail opponents’ appeal the week of Aug. 12 in San Francisco, according to a message posted on the case docket.

Opponents of the rail project, including former Gov. Ben Caye­tano, Cliff Slater and University of Hawaii law professor Randall Roth, filed the request to expedite last month in hopes of getting a decision on their appeal before construction resumes in September.

"This is good news," Slater, one of the project’s most outspoken opponents, said in a statement Friday. "We are pleased that the Ninth Circuit will likely make a final decision soon."

The court’s posting Friday further struck down a motion by the city to dismiss the opponents’ appeal.

In December visiting federal Judge A. Wallace Tashima refused to completely halt construction on the $5.26 billion rail project. Tashima did require the city to further study rail’s impact on Mother Waldron Park in Kakaako, the feasibility of an alternative downtown route under Beretania Street and the impact on cultural sites along the 20-mile route.

Opponents filed an appeal in February to overturn Tashima’s ruling. While the decision allowed building to go forward, it stopped the fourth and final construction phase until the city addressed the project’s outstanding issues in town.

However, a separate ruling by the Hawaii Supreme Court in August forced the city to halt all rail construction until it completed archaeological surveys along the entire 20-mile route. The fieldwork wrapped up earlier this year, and the Hono­lulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is aiming for construction to restart this fall.