Current Rail Route and Construction Schedule
As of April 2020, rail construction is ongoing between Aloha Stadium and the airport with construction expected to reach the Middle Street station by mid-2021. Preliminary work (relocation of utilities) on the Dillingham Boulevard corridor beyond Middle Street is underway and is scheduled to be completed in 2021.
A contract for the construction of the final 4.2 miles of the route (Middle Street to Ala Moana) has not yet been awarded and the deadline for submitting proposals has been postponed until July due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Regardless of when the contract is awarded, construction cannot begin until mid-2021, the estimated completion date of the Aloha Stadium-Middle Street segment.
Although no contract has been awarded for the final 4.2 miles, the City has projected completion of the final leg for December 2025, assuming approximately 1.05 miles of construction per year for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Using these numbers, it is estimated that rail construction will not reach the east end of Dillingham Boulevard (the beginning of the proposed reroute rail, 2.3 miles from Middle Street) until late 2023.
A contract for the construction of the final 4.2 miles of the route (Middle Street to Ala Moana) has not yet been awarded and the deadline for submitting proposals has been postponed until July due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Regardless of when the contract is awarded, construction cannot begin until mid-2021, the estimated completion date of the Aloha Stadium-Middle Street segment.
Although no contract has been awarded for the final 4.2 miles, the City has projected completion of the final leg for December 2025, assuming approximately 1.05 miles of construction per year for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Using these numbers, it is estimated that rail construction will not reach the east end of Dillingham Boulevard (the beginning of the proposed reroute rail, 2.3 miles from Middle Street) until late 2023.
Q: Will rerouting rail delay final completion of the project?
A: Rerouting rail to Beretania Street will require analysis and preparation of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (SEIS) but there is ample time (3+ years) to do the work before the guideway reaches the beginning of the proposed reroute (Dillingham Boulevard near Kaaahi St.)
Rerouting rail is not new to the project. In April 2010, the City announced that it would move the rail route inland due to a conflict with FAA airspace requirements for one of the airport runways. In the span of two months, the reroute was environmentally evaluated, reviewed with the FTA (Federal Transit Authority, the Federal body overseeing the project) and incorporated into a final Environmental Impact Statement released in June 2010. Rerouting the rail line to Beretania Street will require more extensive analysis of traffic and neighborhood impacts and the SEIS will require approximately one year to produce.
Rerouting rail is not new to the project. In April 2010, the City announced that it would move the rail route inland due to a conflict with FAA airspace requirements for one of the airport runways. In the span of two months, the reroute was environmentally evaluated, reviewed with the FTA (Federal Transit Authority, the Federal body overseeing the project) and incorporated into a final Environmental Impact Statement released in June 2010. Rerouting the rail line to Beretania Street will require more extensive analysis of traffic and neighborhood impacts and the SEIS will require approximately one year to produce.
Q: Is there time to produce an SEIS without delaying the overall project?
A: As seen from the current rail schedule, guideway construction is projected to reach the Downtown end of Dillingham Boulevard by late 2023. In light of the State’s tax shortfall due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the uncertainty of when and if a contract will be awarded for the final leg of the route, it appears that this date will likely be delayed until early 2024. At any rate, the City has at least 3 years in which to perform an SEIS, get approval from the FTA, and revise construction drawings to reflect the new route. If these things are done by late 2023, rail construction can continue per the original schedule.