The 2017 Legislature ended last week with a whimper. The ones whimpering, unfortunately, are the residents of this state.

They are now left in limbo by the stalemate among leaders elected to resolve some critical issues. The $10 billion rail project is the one most crucially in need of attention, in need of a special session of the Legislature.

By contrast, at Thursday’s adjournment, the reaction from the lawmakers — and the governor, for that matter — was more like a shrug.

A great deal of energy was expended in the waning hours on a political battle that forced a turnover of leadership in the House, with state Rep. Scott Saiki taking over the speakership from Rep. Joseph Souki. Across the Capitol, state Sen. Jill Tokuda was compelled to give up her post chairing the Ways and Means Committee.

But even as they all walked away and switched off the lights, it was plain that several concerns of real consequence were left on the table, unresolved.

In a session wracked by worries about shrinking tax revenues, a bill seeking to reap needed cash from the state’s vacation rentals has stalled. That makes this the second year running the state has failed to move the needle on the issue.

There is the utterly desperate shortage of affordable housing, one of many factors underlying Hawaii’s persistent homelessness problem. Advocates are distressed that lawmakers have yet to give this matter the funding priority it deserves.

But without a doubt, it’s the state of the city’s financially troubled rail project, left in the lurch while the focus shifted to political maneuvers, that was the most disgraceful.

The lack of resolution here up-ends Honolulu’s budgetary cycle. In the absence of a clear path forward, the City Council can’t determine the best way to balance city services with tax receipts.

The debate had dredged up so much hostility and frustration that legislators have said a cooling-off period is essential.

That may be needed — even inevitable, given all the heat. But these politicians cannot afford significant delay: Far too much is at stake.

Lawmakers must return to the table at a special session and begin the work of crafting a rational solution to the project’s funding shortfall, estimated at $3 billion, including financing costs.

The extension of the general excise tax surplus for 10 years — the Senate’s last bid on Thursday — is the best course of action, but if House opponents can’t go that far, some combination of funding sources could be considered.

It’s plain enough why this debate became so fraught with political tensions.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who has his own fractious history with some of the Capitol’s power brokers, tried to ingratiate himself with those leaders, but it seemed too late for that. They were already irritated by the mayor’s previous entreaties for more funding, and his insistence that this would be enough money to finish the project.

Yet here he was again, two years later.

Caldwell owns the lion’s share of this problem, over the long term. He should have better anticipated, or responded more quickly to, the delays and cost overruns not reflected in the budgetary forecasts. More currently, he should have kept the focus of discussions where it belonged: less on the personal back-and-forth and more on the constituents’ needs.

They’re the ones who desperately need the relief and traffic alternative that the rail can provide. The city needs the development keyed to the rail alignment — remember that problem with affordable housing?

It is a project limited by geography to the City and County of Honolulu, but that doesn’t mean its construction should be written off as a priority for the county alone. Honolulu, the state’s principal metropolis, comprises about 80 percent of the state’s entire popu- lation and the primary driver of the economy.

There is widespread public frustration with the projected cost of rail — nearly twice what was expected when the project was first authorized. But it would be foolish to leave a barely functional system that ends at Middle Street, or a short distance beyond. Some would even favor dismantling the 10 miles of superstructure already built.

But then Honolulu would be back at Square 1, needing an alternative to standstill traffic. This would mean another investment of public funds, and it would surely cost more than the $3 billion now needed.

Abandoning the project would be the wrong decision. Yet that would be the effect of a failure to rationally authorize more funds to complete it as intended.

If legislators choose that path, they would have to own the repercussions: a half-completed, ineffectual transit system, their most epic fail ever.