HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi put pen to paper Thursday afternoon, signing the federal transit administration’s “Full Funding Grant Agreement” for the rail project.
It paves the way for the FTA to release the final $744 million dollars.
The FTA approved “Harts” full funding plan in November which was memorialized with the mayor’s signature Feb. 1.
This milestone marks the first federal funds to be released for the project since 2017.
The funding will be released in 5 payments based on specific milestones.
The first being the FTA’s receipt of the document signed here in Honolulu.
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A second chunk of $250 million will be released with the awarding of the city center contract which is already out for bid.
“Finalizing the agreement marks a significant milestone in out partnership with the FTA,” said Mayor Blangiardi. ” This crucial step paves the way for completing the initial phase of Skyline, to the Civic Center Station in Kakaako.”