The Honolulu rail authority is authorizing a contractor to design an extension of the Skyline system from Kakaʻako to Ala Moana, a rail segment that would cost another $1.6 billion to build.
The city does not yet have the money to build it, and the unanimous vote Friday by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board is a tangible step along a path that may lead to additional tax levies on city or state taxpayers for the extension.
The cost of the project has already ballooned to double its original budget to more than $10 billion, and state and local taxpayers have picked up most of that…