Some $493 million in federal funds earmarked for the city’s rail project that were set to expire at the end of the year have been extended for two more years as part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz — a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development — told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program on Wednesday that the money pledged to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation was scheduled to expire on Dec. 31 if unspent.

“It doesn’t mean more money, it just means we saved money,” Schatz told “Spotlight Hawaii.”

In a statement, Schatz’s office said he worked with congressional leaders “to include the deadline extension and protect the project’s federal funding for another two years.”

“My objective was to prevent the loss of these federal dollars,” Schatz said in the statement. “While this extension buys them more time, HART and the city still need to update their financial plan and come back with something that can actually work. They now have an opportunity to focus on what is most important — developing a clear-eyed plan for the people of Honolulu.”

The new spending deadline is Dec. 31, 2023.

“There was about $500 million that was going to lapse, expire and be gone by the end of this calendar year,” Schatz told “Spotlight Hawaii.” “I was able to insert a provision in the infrastructure package, which is now law, to extend us through 2023. That doesn’t mean more money. It does mean we saved the $500 million that was in jeopardy for another two, two-and-a-half years.

“I’m hesitant to express optimism about rail because our experience has taught us that optimism is not usually borne out,” Schatz said. “However I do think we’re getting closer and closer to finishing this thing.”

The estimated cost of the project that was estimated at $12.5 billion in March has now been reduced to $11.48 billion. And the estimated deficit has been reduced from $3.5 billion to $1.97 billion.

The City Council is debating whether to dedicate one-third of a proposed 3% county transient accommodations tax for the first two years and then increase the share to 1.5% in perpetuity.

HART plans to finish building a rail system comprising 20 trains along a 20.2-mile, 21-station route from East Kapolei to the interior of Ala Moana Center.