The best way to describe the latest unraveling of Honolulu’s $9.2 billion rail debacle is to take liberty with a Bob Dylan title and call it “Tangled Up in Poo.”

Within a few days:

>> Directors of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation deadlocked on whether to fire CEO Andrew Robbins when his contract ends in December, leaving him in limbo as the board lacks the votes to either dump him or renew his deal.

>> Mayor Kirk Caldwell withdrew the city from a proposed public-private partnership to finish the final 4 miles of the rail line from Middle Street to Ala Moana Center, throwing plans for that troubled segment back to square one.

>> The Caldwell administration also refused HART’s request for variances to bury utility lines along Dillingham Boulevard, halting work and potentially delaying full opening of the system — originally scheduled for last year — until the 2030s.

This occurs against a backdrop of shrinking revenues for a project that’s already $4 billion over budget.

HART accountants project the coronavirus recession will cost the agency $450 million in collections from excise and hotel room taxes, and HART is up against a Dec. 31 deadline from the Federal Transit Administration to produce a P3 deal for the final leg in order to receive the project’s remaining $744 million in federal funds.

Not to mention a shifting political backdrop in which a new Honolulu mayor and City Council majority will be elected next month.

Caldwell says state law prohibits him from saying why he backed out of the P3 until HART ends the procurement, which Robbins refuses to do, but the mayor’s move seems warranted.

The P3 hope was the winning bidder would agree to build the final 4 miles for $1.4 billion, likely far less than it would actually cost, in exchange for the right to operate the rail system for 30 years — essentially a shell game to hide construction overruns in inflated operating costs.

The agreement was supposed to be concluded in August, but Civil Beat reported one of the two bidders asked for $2 billion on the construction side — far more than HART can afford.

Even before Caldwell’s surprise withdrawal, in which he suggested HART pursue a traditional and more transparent design-build contract, the HART board was briefed on the possibility of the P3 failing.

It’s time to face the reality that Oahu rail has collapsed.

Responsible parties must hit the pause button and commit no further funds to the Ala Moana segment until Robbins’ status is resolved, the new mayor and Council can assess rail’s finances and we have clarity on federal funds.

Mayoral candidates Keith Amemiya and Rick Blangiardi both support finishing rail to Ala Moana, but they owe us more specific answers on how they’ll address an obvious funding shortage and management crisis.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.