Caldwell Pushes Rail Line During Inaugural

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LOS ANGELES — Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell devoted more than half of his inaugural address to discussing Oahu's embattled 20-mile rail project.

Caldwell, who was elected to his second four-year term as mayor in November, advocated in his speech for an additional extension of the state's general excise tax and for construction of the entire line.

Honolulu officials have discussed shortening the line as costs have mounted.

The cost of the project has risen from an anticipated $5.2 billion to $8.2 billion since 2010, but those estimates don't take into account finance costs. Depending on financing costs, the project has a current shortfall of between $1.4 billion and $2.3 billion.

Caldwell proposed this summer shortening the line by five miles, so it would stop at Middle Street, rather than Ala Moana Shopping Center.

He is now advocating for completing the entire 20 miles.

"It's much easier to say let's think smaller," Caldwell said in his Jan. 3 speech. "Let's not take the chance, because then you don't have to worry about failure or the huge problems that you encounter. But I believe that rail is worth fighting for every single day."

Ridership estimates show 60,000 riders each day if the line stops at Aloha Tower as opposed to the 120,000 estimated if the line extends to Ala Moana Shopping Center, Caldwell said.

"To think, that we would spend $6.8 billion to get half of the ridership, to me is not a choice we want to make," Caldwell said. "For 1.5 more miles from Aloha Tower to Ala Moana Shopping Center, we can an additional 60,000 riders on this system."

The mayor said he will be spending the next four months lobbying the state legislature for an extension of the state's general excise tax.

The legislature already extended the 0.5% GET surcharge by five years early last year to help cover cost overruns associated with construction of the 20-mile rail line across Oahu.

Honolulu has until April 30 to submit a plan to close a shortfall of up to $2.3 billion to the Federal Transit Administration, which is providing $1.55 billion in matching funds for the project.

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Transportation industry Hawaii
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