The City Council is considering a major change to the route of the city's proposed $5 billion rail transit system: an airport stop rather than passing through Salt Lake.

Oahu Rail Transit Route Could Change

 

Many thougth the plan for rail to go through Salt Lake was a bad idea.

 

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  Two days after Oahu voters gave the go-ahead to the rail transit system, the proposal gained preliminary support by a majority of the City Council yesterday, but Mayor Mufi Hannemann was quick to point out that the change could delay the project and will cost more.

The 20-mile, elevated route from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center is estimated to cost $5.2 billion once built. The route going to the airport instead of Salt Lake is estimated to cost an additional $200 million.

“;One of the first steps that needs to be corrected is the route and taking it to Pearl Harbor and the airport,”; said Councilman Todd Apo in a joint news conference with Councilman Charles Djou.

“;It's not that we're saying we'll never go down Salt Lake Boulevard,”; Djou added. “;It's just that we're prioritizing where should we go first. This switch will not delay the project. ... and I think by connecting the route to the airport and Pearl Harbor (Naval Base), we make a better case for federal funding.”;

Djou, a consistent opponent of the rail system because of its cost, is supporting the project after a majority of Oahu voters approved the project in a ballot question Tuesday.

Many leaders, including Hannemann and Hawaii's congressional delegation, had long considered the airport and Pearl Harbor route to be more sensible. Two years ago, however, Hannemann made a compromise for the route to go to Salt Lake to get the support of Councilman Romy Cachola, who was the last of five votes needed to approve the system.

Hannemann was not as enthusiastic yesterday over the airport proposal as many might have expected. Hannemann said he was pleased to see Djou express support for the system and called for others of the anti-rail community to follow.

“;There are some concerns that we would have in moving forward as quickly as the Council would like,”; Hannemann said. “;There are some cost ramifications. And secondly, there are some delays that could occur as a result of the review process.”;

The city is moving forward in the “;preliminary engineering”; phase of the project, and changing the route could delay the goal of groundbreaking late next year.

Cachola, who represents Salt Lake, was angered over the possible change, calling it a “;bad move”; that he won't support. He said Hannemann had made a promise to Salt Lake residents that the route would go to their area.

“;People went to vote in support of the rail issue on the ballot thinking that the alignment would go to Salt Lake, only to find out two days after the election that we are going to switch it to the airport,”; Cachola said. “;The integrity of this Council is compromised. The administration has been compromised.”;

But Hannemann pointed out that it's not his decision to change the route.

“;I made the commitment, but it's (Cachola's) colleagues that are revisiting the issue,”; Hannemann said. “;That's where he needs to spend his time lobbying amongst his colleagues. We did not initiate this. He can't be crying to the administration.”;

Cachola argues that the Salt Lake route would accommodate the thousands of residents living in the area and boost ridership. However, according to a recently released document by the city, ridership would increase with the airport route because of the amount of travelers and employees that work there.

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, the earliest it could take the public's comment on this issue again.