CONNECTING BUS AND RAIL TRANSIT

Rail will be the backbone of a multimodal transit system that will include the city's bus system, TheHandi-Van, bikes and pedestrians. The goal is to create a high-quality, seamless, public transportation network that will serve the needs of a variety of travelers.

Bus routes will connect with all 21 rail stations.  In addition,  four new bus transit centers are planned to be built at the UH West Oahu, West Loch, Pearl Highlands, and Aloha Stadium stations.

Some bus routes will be reconfigured to help get passengers to and from the rail stations. And with the addition of the rail line moving commuters along one of our most congested corridors, more buses will be redeployed to underserved areas.

Representatives from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART), Oahu Transit Services (OTS), which operates the city's bus system, and the Department of Transportation Services (DTS), along with other transit stakeholders, are currently working to identify the opportunities for coordination and cooperation among the three public transit entities. The working group updated the HART Board of Directors on its progress at the Board's monthly meeting this morning in Kapolei.

One of the many areas the group is studying is the fare system, including the latest technologies used in fare collection.  The goal is to provide a single, systemwide fare for both TheBus and rail. Transit riders, including seniors and students, will be able to use a single pass to ride both the train and TheBus, making it easy to transfer between both systems.

WESTSIDE STATIONS BIDS OPENED 

The three bids for the construction of the first nine stations for the rail system were recently announced during the public bid opening process at HART's Alakea Steet offices.

The bids, which came in higher than projected, included bids from Nan Inc.  for $294.5 million,Nordic PCL for $312.3 million, and  Hensel Phelps $320.8 million. HART had projected about $184 million for the station contract.

HART officials had raised concerns about the possibility of the bids coming in higher, after the project was delayed for two years by lawsuits and with the large number of other construction projects now underway.

"The construction market is competitive and hot, and we are seeing that reflected in these bids," said HART Executive Director and CEO Dan Grabauskas. "The next step is for us to carefully review all of the bids to ensure that the bidders were both responsive and responsible.  That will give us a better idea of why the bids came in high and what options we have to reduce costs."

Additional costs could be covered using a combination of contingency funds and adjusting the scope of the contract to reduce costs. The project currently has more than $560 million in contingency funds. The current financial plan also shows an ending cash balance of $193 million once completed, which could also be tapped to cover higher costs.

While the contract costs has come in higher, the overall cost of the $5.16-billion project does not change, with the additional costs being covered within the existing budget.

 WEEKLY TRAFFIC ALERT

EWA

Farrington Highway between Kualakai Parkway (North-South Road) and Old Fort Weaver Road will be closed Monday through Friday between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. through the end of August. Motorists should instead use either the H-1 Freeway or Kapolei Parkway.

Left turns from Farrington Highway onto Fort Weaver Road northbound will be restricted 24/7 through the end of August. Eastbound drivers using Farrington Highway will need to take a detour up Leoku Street and use either Leolua Street or Waipahu Street to access Fort Weaver Road.

H-1 WAIAWA INTERCHANGE

Two southbound lanes of the H-2 Freeway near the H-1/H-2 merge will be closed Sunday, 

August 17 to Thursday, August 21 between 8:30 p.m. and 4 a.m.

WAIPAHU