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FIXED-GUIDEWAY ALTERNATIVE - A: Kamokila Boulevard/ Salt Lake Boulevard/ King Street/ Hotel Street/ Alakea Street/ Kapi‘olani Boulevard Alignment.
This alignment would begin at a transit terminal facility on the waiçanae (west) side of Kalaeloa Boulevard in Kapolei. It would follow Kapolei Parkway, turn onto Kamokila Boulevard and continue along Farrington Highway.
In the diamondhead direction of Kapolei Golf Course Road, the guideway could be placed either at-grade with limited grade crossings or on an elevated structure.
Past Fort Weaver Road, the guideway would be elevated and follow Farrington Highway to Kamehameha Highway.
In the vicinity of Aloha Stadium, the alignment would turn to follow Salt Lake Boulevard onto Pukoloa Street, then continue elevated over Moanalua Stream, following North King Street to Iwilei Road.
After crossing Iwilei Road, the guideway would descend to grade and follow Hotel Street. The line would operate at grade on Hotel Street, crossing traffic at intersections, with transit signal priority to minimize delays.
At Alakea Street, the guideway would begin to descend into a tunnel with a portal at Richards Street. The tunnel would go under the civic center to Alapa‘i Street. Then the guideway would go past Alapa‘i Street and follow Kapi‘olani Boulevard to Dreier Street. The guideway would turn makai and transition to an elevated structure on private property between Dreier Street and Kamani Street. Following Waimanu Street past Kamakee Street, the guideway would turn mauka and follow Kona Street past Ala Moana Center. It would turn mauka just before Atkinson Drive and follow Kapi‘olani Boulevard to University Avenue. The guideway would then turn mauka and follow University Avenue past H-1 Freeway, ending at a proposed terminal facility in the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa lower campus.
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FIXED-GUIDEWAY ALTERNATIVE - B: North-South Road/ Camp Catlin Road/ King Street/ Queen Street/ Kapi‘olani Boulevard Alignment.
This alignment would begin at the transit terminal facility in Kapolei and follow Kapolei Parkway to North-South Road, turn mauka to Farrington Highway and continue along Farrington Highway as shown on the Public Facilities Map of the Ewa Development Plan.
In the diamondhead direction of Kalaeloa Boulevard, the guideway could be placed either at-grade with limited grade crossings or on an elevated structure. Past Fort Weaver Road, the guideway would be elevated and follow Farrington Highway to Kamehameha Highway. In the vicinity of the Airport Viaduct, the alignment would follow the mauka side of H-1 Freeway to Camp Catlin Road, then turn mauka and continue elevated to Salt Lake Boulevard, turning diamondhead to continue elevated over Pukoloa Street, past Moanalua Stream, and then along North King Street.
Between Liliha Street and Iwilei Road, the guideway would turn makai over property to be acquired or over Nu‘uanu Stream, then follow Nimitz Highway diamondhead to Queen Street, then along Queen Street past Kamakee Street following the new Queen Street Extension alignment. Property on the mauka side of Waimanu Street would be acquired to allow the alignment to cross over to Kona Street.
As in Alternative 4a, the guideway would run above Kona Street through Ala Moana Center, then turn mauka to follow Kapi‘olani Boulevard to University Avenue where it would again turn mauka to follow University Avenue over H-1 Freeway to a proposed terminal facility in the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa lower campus.
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FIXED-GUIDEWAY ALTERNATIVE - C: Fort Weaver Road/ Farrington Highway/ Kamehameha Highway/ Dillingham Boulevard/ Ka‘aahi Street/ Beretania Street/ King Street/ Kai‘ali‘u Street Alignment.
This alignment would begin at the transit terminal facility in Kapolei, following Kapolei Parkway to Wakea Street, then turn makai to Saratoga Avenue. The guideway would continue on a future extension of Saratoga Avenue and Geiger Road onto Fort Weaver Road.
Continuing on Fort Weaver Road, the alignment would turn diamondhead onto Farrington Highway and follow Farrington Highway, on an elevated structure to Kamehameha Highway. At the Pearl Harbor Interchange, the guideway could continue either at-grade in the median of Nimitz Highway under the viaduct, or continue elevated along the mauka side of H-1 Freeway to Dillingham Boulevard, then follow Dillingham Boulevard diamondhead to Ka‘aahi Street.
The guideway would descend to a tunnel portal in the vicinity of Ka‘aahi Street, continue through the tunnel under ‘A‘ala Park and Nu‘uanu Stream, and then follow Beretania Street. It would transition to an elevated structure on the makai side of Beretania Street between Punchbowl Street and Alapa‘i Street. The guideway would cross over Alapa‘i Street, turning makai to continue above South King Street to Kai‘ali‘u Street, where it would turn mauka to cross over University Avenue and H-1 Freeway to a proposed terminal facility in the University of Hawai‘i–Manoa lower campus.
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FIXED-GUIDEWAY ALTERNATIVE - D: North-South Road/ Farrington Highway/Kamehameha Highway/ Airport/ Dillingham Boulevard/ Hotel Street/ Kapi‘olani Boulevard (with Waikiki Spur) Alignment.
This alignment would begin at the transit terminal facility in Kapolei and follow Kapolei Parkway to Wakea Street, then turn makai to a future alignment of Wakea Street to Saratoga Avenue. The guideway would continue on future extensions of Saratoga Avenue and North-South Road, and follow North-South Road to Farrington Highway.
In the wai‘anae direction of Fort Weaver Road, the guideway could be placed either at-grade with limited grade crossings, or on an elevated structure. In the diamondhead direction of Fort Weaver Road, the guideway would be on an elevated structure and follow Farrington Highway to Kamehameha Highway. The guideway would be elevated along the makai side of H-1 Freeway from Pearl Harbor Interchange to Ke‘ehi Interchange, then cross over Ke‘ehi Interchange to Dillingham Boulevard and follow Dillingham Boulevard diamondhead to Ka‘aahi Street. In the vicinity of Ka‘aahi Street, the guideway would descend to grade and cross North King Street onto Hotel Street. The line would operate at grade with transit signal priority on Hotel Street to minimize delays between River Street and Alakea Street.
As in Alternative 4a, the guideway would begin to descend into a tunnel with a portal at Richards Street and would continue in a tunnel under the state government buildings, past Honolulu Hale, turning makai under South King Street following Kawaiaha‘o Street, where it would transition to an elevated structure past South Street. The guideway would continue on Kawaiaha‘o Street to near Kamakee Street, where property on each side of Kamakee Street would be acquired to allow the alignment to cross over to Kona Street. As in Alternative 4a, the guideway would run above Kona Street through Ala Moana Center and turn mauka to follow Kapi‘olani Boulevard to University Avenue, where it would turn mauka to follow University Avenue over H-1 Freeway to a proposed terminal facility in the University of Hawai‘i–Manoa lower campus. A branch line would extend from a transfer point at Ala Moana Center or the Hawai‘i Convention Center, into Waikiki following Kalakaua Avenue to Kuhio Avenue, then extend along Kuhio Avenue to the vicinity of Kapahulu Avenue. |
City consultants have identified three likely technologies —light rail, monorail and magnetic levitation — and four routes that could be used for a new mass-transit system between Kapolei and the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.
Also, a new elevated roadway for buses, car pools and toll-paying vehicles is still being considered.
The city is moving toward a December 2006 deadline to select a locally preferred alternative for a proposed $2.8 billion transit project designed to offer freeway-clogged suburban drivers another way to move between home and work.
The possibilities, contained in a brochure mailed to thousands of O'ahu residents last week, are the first indications of what city officials are considering as they map Honolulu's transportation future for the coming 50 years.
Next, city officials want to hear the public's comments on the alternatives. They have launched a Web site that showcases the options, and are planning two meetings later this month to hear what residents think about the work done so far.
"We've narrowed the possibilities down somewhat and are ready to get feedback from the public," said Toru Hamayasu, the city's chief engineer for transportation projects.
The initial decisions are as notable for what they include as what they don't.
Among the areas rejected for use in the project are the old OR&L railroad right of way, H-1 Freeway 'ewa of Aloha Stadium, Moanalua Freeway, Nimitz Highway through Kalihi Kai, School Street, and both H-1 Freeway and Beretania Street between downtown and Manoa.
The consultants also recommended against a large-scale railroad and the much smaller "personal rapid transit" vehicles, such as those used at several airports.
However, that still leaves a variety of technologies and routes for city officials to choose from. All of the options involve a system built either above or below existing roadways, and none would not take away any existing traffic lanes, officials said.
Among the options still on the table:
All four of the proposed routes for an elevated, fixed-guideway rail line begin in Kapolei, travel through downtown Honolulu and end in Manoa. In between, however, they all follow different corridors at certain points.
One alignment, for instance, goes from Kapolei to 'Ewa Beach, while the other three bypass 'Ewa Beach and proceed directly to Waipahu. Three routes propose using a tunnel through downtown Honolulu; the other route would use an elevated line running through the densely populated area. One includes a possible spur to Waikiki.
The bus proposal calls for construction of an elevated guideway system between Waipahu and Iwilei. Existing bus service would be expanded on either end of the newly built line to enhance the service.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, said last week that the transit project is entering a crucial phase of development.
"The City Council has set up a very tight schedule to get things accomplished, and there's serious business that needs to be transacted. We have to get on with it," Abercrombie said.
He said decisions need to be made on such matters as whether the transit system will serve Pearl Harbor, Kaka'ako and other places.
"We have a lot of work to do in a very short time," he said.
Residents have until Jan. 9 to comment on the proposals.
After that, consultants will be able to move forward on each option, developing specific details such as the locations of rail stops, projected ridership on each line, and estimated costs, said Mark Scheibe, project manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, the firm doing the planning work under a $9.7 million city contract.
"At this point, we're suggesting a set of alternatives, but things could still change after we receive comments at the scoping meetings," Scheibe said. "It's possible that one of the alternatives could be dropped, or we could add something else if there's enough popular support."
Among the factors considered in narrowing the list of potential technologies and routes were known engineering constraints, lack of available space to build and operate a guideway, and the projected job and residential growth in areas of O'ahu, Scheibe said.
By federal law, the city must also consider in its alternatives planning what would happen if no major project is built and what would be the result of dramatically increasing existing bus service.
City officials want to come up with one preferred alternative by next December and have a completed draft environmental impact statement by early 2007. If all goes smoothly, construction on the new transit project could begin sometime in 2009, city officials said.
City Council members this year approved an increase in the state's general excise tax from 4 percent to 4.5 percent to help pay for the project. That tax, expected to generate $150 million a year for transit, is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2007.
Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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