The Honolulu Rail Project began in 2006 at the estimated cost of $2.7 BILLION. It has been delayed for over a decade and the estimated costs is now hovering around $12.4 BILLION.
The price will surely escalate as the conventional wisdom and warnings are that the last leg of the project will be the most costly and most complicated.
One huge elephant in the room is the fact that the route from Middle Street to Ala Moana Center is in the Honolulu Sea Level Rise Inundation Zone. But this climate change issue has been ignored and set aside by the Honolulu Rail Project decision-makers.
It’s extremely contradictory as Hawaii became the first state in the U.S. to declare climate change as a crisis. Additionally, the City and County of Honolulu also create the Office of Climate Change and Resiliency to promote climate change planning.
