Andrew Robbins has been a project manager for Honolulu transit before, but that was nearly 30 years ago; the political landscape is wholly changed. And there’s precious little time for any new boss to learn the lay of the land.
The newly appointed executive director and chief executive officer of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation takes over the helm of Oahu’s critically important but fiscally tenuous 20-mile East Kapolei to Ala Moana rail line, with a commitment to finish the job.
As the new permanent CEO, replacing interim CEO Krishniah Murthy, Robbins will have to surmount some high hurdles right out of the gate — and even before his official start date of Sept. 5.
The project is some $3 billion short in needed funding, and bottom-line costs estimates are approaching $10 billion. Decisions on where the money will come from will be made at a special session of the Legislature, Aug. 28-Sept. 1. So first and foremost, Robbins will need to mend some fences with state lawmakers, who clearly have lost faith in the ability of HART and city administrators to keep budget planning rational and costs controlled.
The simplest, most efficient solution remains extending the general excise tax surcharge that has yielded primary financing for the project to date — but someone has to make the case more persuasively than city officials, including the mayor, have done thus far.
Robbins has a Hawaii professional engineering license and knows much of the project background. He had a top position managing the preceding rail transit plan proposed under then-Mayor Frank Fasi.
Robbins may have useful perspective on contractual issues. As a senior executive with Bombardier Transportation, a rival company to Ansaldo Honolulu JV, he helped lead protracted legal battles over the “core systems” contract for the current rail project. Bombardier actually had the lower bid but was disqualified.
He also has contacts and relationships locally that should be brought to bear before lawmakers reconvene in special session, when a new “rescue” plan must be hammered out to close the latest financial gap. The continued approval of the Federal Transit Administration is needed to secure the full $1.55 billion federal subsidy allocated for the project and ensure that Honolulu will not have to repay funds already spent.
Undoubtedly, it was important to have a permanent CEO in place before this can happen. The FTA needs some assurance that commitments made by HART administrators can be carried out long-term, a promise that temporary hire Murthy couldn’t make.
Robbins is described in the HART announcement as “a seasoned rail transit executive with substantial experience in public passenger urban rail, rail equipment, infrastructure, construction management, systems integration and airport transit. …He also has experience in project management, project engineering, systems engineering, construction and installation, operations and maintenance, and business development.”
Another credential cited: specialization in driverless transit systems akin to the rail cars HART has on order.
All of this sounds encouraging. Foundational experience with construction challenges and pitfalls was lacking in Robbins’ predecessor as permanent director, Dan Grabauskas, who left a year ago.
Grabauskas’ skills lay more in communication and outreach to the various stakeholders in the early years. But it’s not clear that either he or his team properly anticipated the project’s technical problems, or that they could navigate the stormy seas of contract change orders and rising costs.
That being said, some skill in communication will be vital in the coming weeks. Skeptical lawmakers and frustrated HART and city officials have been talking past each other for months.
It’s time for that to stop. Robbins’ marching orders are to change the conversation.
