Hawaii scrambles to keep train project from going off rails

[TexasTowelie]

HONOLULU — Train tracks supported by concrete pillars snake through Oahu neighborhoods and across its lush scenery, ending abruptly in an empty, overgrown field. They’re part of a planned $9.5 billion rail transit project — one of the most expensive per capita in the United States.

But the commuter line, in the works in and around Honolulu for more than a decade, is less than halfway complete and facing a budget shortfall of up to $3 billion. If lawmakers don’t agree on how to fill it, the giant columns could end up as nothing more than expensive eyesores.

Hawaii lawmakers are convening in a special session Monday after failing to plug the funding gap earlier this year.

Legislative leaders have tentatively agreed to a bill, but whether it will pass is unclear. If no solution is found by Sept. 15, the federal government could demand that Honolulu return more than $800 million it has already spent and withhold the rest of a promised $1.5 billion funding package.

Read more: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/state/hawaii-scrambles-keep-train-project-going-rails