The moment Honolulu has been waiting over a decade for arrived this morning, as crews officially broke ground on the most complex phase yet of Hawaii's massive rail project. The ceremony at the future Civic Center Station site in Kakaako launched construction of what could be the final stretch to bring rail service into the heart of urban Honolulu—a goal that has faced years of delays, budget overruns, and skeptical residents watching costs balloon to nearly $10 billion.
The Downtown Push
According to KHON2, Phase 3 of the $1.4 billion project will add six new stations and about three miles of elevated guideway from Middle Street to Civic Center. The ambitious phase will connect neighborhoods from Kalihi through Downtown, with HART officials confirming six stations at Kalihi, Honolulu Community College-Kapālama, Iwilei, Chinatown, Downtown, and Civic Center.
Construction Dive reported that Los Angeles-based Tutor Perini ultimately won the $1.66 billion contract from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. The company had shelved the project four years ago amid budget shortfalls and initial bids that came in too high during the COVID-19 pandemic but ultimately secured the massive contract after resubmitting their proposal.
Learning from Past Mistakes
HART officials are betting that lessons learned from earlier segments will prevent the costly delays that plagued previous phases. As detailed by Construction Dive, HART decided in 2021 to shift a portion of the alignment to the "mauka," or mountain, side of the corridor, referred to as the "Makua Shift" to significantly reduce utility relocations while shortening the construction timeline.
This strategic pivot comes after expensive utility relocation issues on Segment 2, where a Shimmick/Traylor/Granite joint venture sued HART for $99 million and eventually reached a $60 million settlement with the agency. Construction work is already underway in some areas, with HART noting that guideway construction is anticipated to begin in summer 2025, starting with shaft construction in Iwilei.
Timeline and Current Progress
The timeline calls for substantial completion in 2030, with transfer to the Department of Transportation Services by 2031. Meanwhile, Phase 2 continues to progress toward its anticipated opening, as HART confirmed trial operations began on July 26, for the segment connecting Pearl Harbor, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Lagoon Drive, and Middle Street, with an anticipated opening date of October 15, 2025.
The groundbreaking comes at a time when the existing Skyline system faces scrutiny over ridership numbers. According to data from Wikipedia, in 2024 the line had an annual ridership of 1,151,000, or about 3,300 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2025, significantly below initial projections.
Federal Funding and Future Vision
The project received a significant boost earlier this year when HART received $125 million in federal funding from the FTA—the first federal funding received since 2017, providing crucial support for the downtown phase after years of financial uncertainty. As noted by Wikipedia, its construction constitutes the largest public works project in Hawaii's history.
However, two planned stations remain in limbo. Kūkuluaeʻo (Kakaako) and Kālia (Ala Moana Center) stations were included in the original plan for Skyline but had to be eliminated from the initial phases of construction due to a severe funding shortfall. Despite the indefinite deferral, HART says it remains committed to completing these stations in the future.
