HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu officials say the Federal Transit Administration has made it clear the city won’t be receiving additional federal dollars to fund a $2 billion shortfall in the city’s rail project budget.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Mayor Kirk Caldwell and members of the Honolulu Authority for Rail Transportation met with federal transit officials Tuesday at the FTA’s western regional office in San Francisco.
City officials say in a news release that the FTA has also shot down a proposal to have the rail constructed about 5 miles shorter than originally planned. The city says it would miss out on a $1.6 billion federal grant by stopping the line short.
The full 20-mile project has been estimated to cost $8 billion, about $2 billion more than estimates in 2014.