Despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, officials from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) remain optimistic that more federal funding will continue to support rail construction as the project advances toward downtown Honolulu.
The opening of Skyline Segment 2 on October 16 for public revenue service—extending past Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport—was expected to trigger $125 million in federal funds for ongoing rail construction. Currently, HART receives nearly 10% of its funding from the U.S. government.
However, since the federal government shutdown began on October 1, President Donald Trump has acted to suspend federal funds allocated to mass transit projects nationwide. For example, on October 1, about $18 billion in federal funding for a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River (connecting New York City and New Jersey) and a related subway project were put on hold. Two days later, $2.1 billion in funding for Chicago transit projects was also frozen.
This funding uncertainty could potentially affect Segment 3, the final phase of the 18.9-mile, 19-station route running from East Kapolei to Kakaako. Segment 3, with an estimated price tag of $1.4 billion, will add six new stations and approximately 3 miles of elevated guideway to the Civic Center Station, expected to be completed in about five years.
To date, HART has received more than $1.1 billion in federal funds under its Amended Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), signed in February 2024. Initially, the FFGA provided $1.55 billion to construct the city’s rail project.
During the HART Board of Directors’ project oversight committee meeting on Friday, Kika Bukoski, the board’s new chairperson, requested an update on the status of the $125 million associated with Segment 2’s completion amid the federal shutdown.
“What’s the temperature like?” Bukoski asked.
In response, HART Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Mike O‘Keefe stated that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has indicated there is no change to the next round of funding for the more than $10 billion rail project.
“We are working with FTA on getting the next tranche—the $125 million that became available to us once we completed Segment 2,” O‘Keefe said. “Ordinarily, that process takes some time. It has to go through FTA, and then several other signatories, or parties, on the federal side before the money is ultimately released.”
He noted, however, that the federal government shutdown may delay the receipt of these funds.
“The rough timeline we were given to get that money, under normal circumstances from the point where we started submitting our payment requests, was about two to three months,” O‘Keefe explained. “But with the government shutdown right now, that kind of throws a wrench into things.”
“The timeline for when we’ll actually get the funds is probably a little bit up in the air, but we’re working on it. Other than the slowdown caused by the government shutdown, there’s no indication that the money is in jeopardy or anything like that,” he added.
Bukoski then inquired if the shutdown would impact HART’s capital funding to build the rail project.
“No, we have sufficient money in the bank to pay our bills,” O‘Keefe replied. “So we don’t anticipate any liquidity or cash-flow problems.”
At the same meeting, HART Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina shared that after receiving the $125 million for completing Segment 2, the agency expects to secure two more tranches of funding for the rail project.
This includes another $125 million to complete utility relocation work along Dillingham Boulevard, anticipated in late 2026, and a final round of $119 million expected in 2027, which is not tied to specific project milestones.
“There’s always a risk, especially seeing what’s happening with other agencies, that the federal government may take funding away,” Kahikina said. “But hopefully, we’ve shown that we’ve met every deadline that the FTA and the federal government have put on us. So hopefully, they will leave us alone.”
She also noted that HART differs from other impacted rail agencies in that the $1.55 billion FFGA amount is the original allocation and has not increased, unlike funding for some other agencies.
“So hopefully, the administration will continue to release those last three tranches,” Kahikina added.
In other board business during the meeting, Kika Bukoski was elected as the new HART board chair. Bukoski, the board’s longtime vice chair, replaces former chair Colleen Hanabusa, who resigned from the all-volunteer panel in September with little explanation.
Appointed by the City Council with a term through 2029, Bukoski is a former state representative and the former executive director of the Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, according to HART’s website.
Additionally, the board elected Chris Takashige as its new vice chair. Takashige, appointed by the mayor to a term running through 2030, is a former director of design and construction at HART.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/10/25/hawaii-news/skylines-future-funding-may-be-delayed-due-to-government-shutdown/
