As construction on the Skyline rail continues, the public has the chance to offer input on the preliminary designs of the Mokauea, or Kalihi, and Niuhelewai, or Kapālama, stations.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, or HART, and Tutor Perini Corp., its contractor for the City Center Guideway and Stations, will host a neighborhood design workshop for the new stations from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11 at King David Kalākaua Middle School cafeteria, 821 Kalihi St. in Honolulu.
It's the first of two workshops that will be held for the two stations. You'll have the chance to speak with project reps, ask questions and give feedback on the preliminary designs of the stations, according to HART, the public transit authority leading the planning and construction of the Skyline rail transit system for the City and County of Honolulu.
"The CCGS Station Neighborhood Design Workshops are a valuable community engagement forum to solicit feedback from the public and answer their questions related to the preliminary design of the stations," HART Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina said in a statement provided to Aloha State Daily. "The foundational and structural elements of the six stations in Segment 3 have been determined, but the designs are still in a preliminary phase, about 30% complete.
"HART is hosting two Neighborhood Design Workshops for each station," she continued. "They began in June and will continue through spring 2026. We encourage the public to continue providing input on aesthetics at these workshops."
Ground broke last month at the future site of the Ka‘ākaukukui, or Civic Center, station in Kaka‘ako for the next phase of the project, the city center guideway and stations.
The CCGS project includes the construction of nearly three miles of elevated guideway and six rail stations, starting near the Kahauiki, or Middle Street Transit Center, station and ending at the the Civic Center station, just east of the intersection of Halekauwila and South streets, an announcement from HART noted at that time. Construction is expected to be finished by 2030.
HART awarded a $1.66 billion contract for the design and construction of the CCGS project to Tutor Perini Corp. in August 2024.
Utility work for this third segment of the rail has been underway for the last two years, but Kahikina told ASD last month that the hope is that the utilities are expected to be finished in the Downtown Honolulu area by the end of the year and the Dillingham corridor by next summer.
The first segment of the rail opened in June 2023 and spans just under 11 miles from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium. This section includes the rail's first nine stations: Kaualakaʻi (East Kapolei), Keoneʻae (University of Hawai‘i-West Oʻahu), Honouliuli (Hoʻopili), Hōʻaeʻae (West Loch), Pouhala (Waipahu Transit Center), Hālaulani (Leeward Community College), Waiawa (Pearl Highlands), Kalauao (Pearlridge), and Hālawa (Aloha Stadium).
The second section, running 5.2 miles from Aloha Stadium to the Middle Street Transit Center, is expected to open in October.
This portion will add four more stations to the route: Pearl Harbor, the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Lagoon Drive and Middle Street.
And ICYMI, the ongoing rail construction has prompted extended lane closures.
HART announced in August that, among other closures and detours, one lane of eastbound and westbound Nimitz Highway between ‘Awa and Bishop streets will be closed 24/7 through September 2030, for the duration of the City Center Guideway and Stations project.
For more information about upcoming workshops and other project updates, you can sign up for HART's weekly email blast.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
