Architects: Put Rail on the Ground--Save $4.2B
It is anticipated that the HART elevated rail project will use up its existing funding (local and federal, totaling $6.57B) shortly after construction to Middle Street. The current estimate for completing construction through the Middle Street station is $6.22B, leaving only $350M in available funds for the final five miles of the project to Ala Moana. Ever-escalating construction costs have caused political leaders and HART officials to consider stopping construction after Middle Street while exploring additional funding methods and design alternatives for the final five miles of the route.
With HART officials now anticipating $3B in additional construction costs for completion to Ala Moana (projected total cost $9.5B), and with the most challenging construction conditions (and associated cost overruns) still ahead, it makes sense for political leaders and HART officials to pause and reassess the project. According to independent transit experts, the rail equipment and station design currently under contract to HART can be modified to allow street level operation in central Honolulu. This would not only save billions of dollars in construction costs but would also allow future extensions to Waikiki and UH Manoa at a fraction of the cost of elevated rail. This would allow HART to satisfy stipulations for the federal funding as well as commuter preferences for a “one-seat ride” to Downtown. Modified for street level operation in central Honolulu, HART would become a mass transit system that better meets the mobility needs of all Oahu residents yet is more affordable and more easily extended. HART could be not only a commuter rail system for those in Leeward Oahu but also an urban rail system used by all to get around central and leeward Honolulu.
The Recovery Plan recently transmitted to HART officials by the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) in June 2016 lists six options for completion in order to receive $1.55B in federal funding. The FTA does not dictate what rail technology is used so long as the end point is Ala Moana. Option 2A in the Recovery Plan reads, “Build to Middle Street as planned and continue with at grade rail system”. This Option becomes particularly attractive if HART trains can be modified to operate at street level rather than creating a separate system that riders must transfer to. The most glaring weakness of HART in its current form is that it does not include the major commuter destinations of Waikiki and UH Manoa. Given the long-stated opposition to elevated rail in Waikiki and the exorbitant cost of extending HART to UH Manoa (discussed in detail below), it is clear that an all-elevated HART will never reach those two destinations. In contrast, a HART system modified for street level operation can be completed four year earlier, will cost $2 - 5B less than an elevated project, and can be extended easily at reasonable cost.
More at http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/ID/18927/Architects-Put-Rail-on-the-GroundmdashSave-42B.aspx .