Federal Subpoenas for Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation

Bad news for Honolulu's troubled rail transit project: new federal scrutiny and a potential criminal investigation.

1 minute read

February 15, 2019, 10:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Honolulu Rail Transit

Honolulu Authority of Rapid Transportation / Honolulu Rail Transit

"The agency overseeing Honolulu rail has been subpoenaed by federal authorities to provide documents related to the transit project’s construction," reports Marcel Honore.

"The subpoena, which Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation officials say they received Monday, requires the agency to provide consultant contracts, lists of contractors, change orders, archaeological studies, and correspondence with the Federal Transit Administration," adds Honore.

The project's costs have been skyrocketing since 2014, according to the article. A recent city and county audit [pdf] was not kind to the project, but "[t]public has never received a comprehensive reckoning of what went wrong." The last Planetizen heard from the project was that HART had completed a recovery plan in time for a federal deadline.

Friday, February 15, 2019 in Honolulu Civil Beat

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