The signing of the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) marks the final step of the FTA's New Starts federal funding process for O`ahu's new rail system and makes $200 million in federal funding available to the Honolulu rail project for fiscal year 2012.
The City and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) signed a historic agreement that secures $1.55 billion in federal funding for Honolulu’s rail transit system.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony on December 19 in Washington D.C., with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood; FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff; U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye‘s Chief of Staff Jennifer Goto Sabas and the Senator’s widow, Irene Inouye; U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka; U.S. Senator-Elect Mazie Hirono; Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa; Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle; Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernest Y. Martin; City Council Vice Chairman Ikaika Andersen; and HART Executive Director and CEO Dan Grabauskas, in attendance.
“The Honolulu rail transit project, the first of its kind in the state, will bring new transit options to the growing region and create a modern transportation system that is built to last for future generations,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood. “And though, sadly, Senator Inouye cannot be here with us today, this agreement is a testament to his tireless advocacy on behalf of his state and its people.”
The signing of the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) marks the final step of the FTA’s New Starts federal funding process for O`ahu’s new rail system and makes $200 million in federal funding available to the Honolulu rail project for fiscal year 2012. The full system is slated to be operational in 2019.
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