Honolulu’s elevated rail is finally pushing into the city it was built to serve. The City Center Guideway and Stations contract carries Skyline its last three miles, from the Middle Street Transit Center into downtown at Cooke Street, and it’s the segment that turns a suburban line into an actual urban transit system.
Project Scope. HART awarded the $1.66 billion design-build contract to Tutor Perini, which is delivering roughly three miles of elevated guideway plus six stations and supporting infrastructure through the dense Iwilei, Chinatown and downtown corridor. Building elevated rail through occupied city streets is a different problem than the open stretches Skyline crossed earlier. As of 2026, crews are driving foundations and columns along the alignment, with station foundation work started in the Chinatown area. Completion is targeted for 2030.
Why It Matters. Skyline has been one of the most scrutinized transit projects in the country, dogged by years of cost overruns and schedule slips. The downtown segment is where the line either pays off or doesn’t. Connecting the existing guideway to Honolulu’s job centers, government district and the airport corridor is what makes the whole investment usable for daily commuters rather than a partial line ending short of where people go. Tutor Perini’s bid came in well above the agency’s earlier budget, a reminder that finishing the densest miles of an urban rail project is also the most expensive part.
Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) |
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| General Contractor | Tutor Perini |
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| Status | Under Construction |
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| Delivery Method | Design-Build |
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| Funding Source | Public (Municipal) |
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