Rail board to pay contractor $38M following another delay on the embattled project

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The rail board reluctantly agreed to pay a construction company an extra $38 million for another work delay.

The contractor, STG, originally demanded $77 million after construction along Ualena Street near the airport was stalled for 219 days in 2018 and 2019.

However, the company eventually settled for the reduced payment.

Board members were unhappy to learn the delay was due to the project’s lengthy negotiations with Hawaiian Electric — over the standards for putting electrical lines underground.

“I mean it just that when we are racking up $150,000 a day for delays. I would have thought it was a situation that demanded a little bit more urgency,” said HART Board Member Anthony Aalto.

“Staff is much better about raising it much quicker now, and we have a really good relationship with our partners at HECO,” said HART CEO Lori Kahikina. “So when they raise it, we are on it to avoid a situation like this in the future again.”

Officials said the money to pay STG will come from the projects contingency funds.