City officials have learned that the Federal Aviation Administration will approve realignment of the planned rail transit system to a route several hundred feet farther from Honolulu Airport.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said the city received the word yesterday from the Federal Transit Administration of the FAA approval, removing the “;final obstacle”; in preparation of an environmental impact statement on the 20-mile rail project from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.

The FAA had raised concerns that a planned four-story station less than 1,000 feet from active runways would encroach on the airspace buffer zone.

Earlier this month the city released plans to move a portion of the railway from Aolele Street to Ualena Street and put the station at Ualena and Lagoon Drive.

Hannemann met with FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff, and city officials consulted with the FTA and FAA about mitigation measures to resolve the concern.

No information has been released on what the realignment will add to the estimated $5.3 billion cost of the project.

The mayor announced the FAA approval during an afternoon news conference.

“;The change that we asked for has been accepted, both the FAA and FTA, and it will be reflected in the final EIS and the document that we are working very hard to get to the governor's desk. So that is a good milestone and another significant movement forward,”; Hannemann said.