Question: I live in a Downtown high-rise building, and HART has been doing loud construction right next to our building for weeks. There’s a daytime shift, and then a break for several hours, and then they start up again after 9 p.m., usually going until about 2 a.m. All my neighbors are talking about how they are wearing earplugs but still can’t sleep. How long is HART planning to continue to do loud construction next to residential buildings in the middle of the night, and is it even supposed to be allowed in the first place?
Answer: Noisy construction of Oahu’s Skyline rail transit system will persist Downtown for years, although this section of utility relocation work is expected to wrap up in early 2025. You are one of numerous readers we’ve heard from lately, unable to sleep through middle-of-the-night work, which is permitted to speed the work along and reduce traffic disruptions during the morning and evening rush hours. Most of the readers we’ve heard from live along Ala Moana Boulevard/Nimitz Highway, particularly between Richards and Alakea streets.
Here are responses to your questions from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, the agency overseeing Skyline’s construction:
“The Downtown utility relocation work along Nimitz Highway from Awa Street to Richards Street is ongoing Monday through Saturday, eastbound from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., westbound from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and also from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The utility relocation work along Halekauwila Street from Richards Street to Cooke Street is ongoing Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. This schedule is in place to expedite the work and minimize daytime traffic impacts. The estimated completion for this work is first quarter of 2025.
“Late-night utility relocation work in the Downtown area is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.
“HART and its contractors adhere to the state of Hawaii permitting requirements, which include obtaining night work permits for specific construction activities. These permits are issued to balance project needs with community considerations, especially in areas near residential buildings.”
Utility relocation work for the Skyline project includes “relocating storm drainage facilities, sewer facilities, water main, gas and fuel, electrical and communications infrastructure, along with roadway improvements,” according to the HART website.
This utility work must be done before construction can proceed on the City Center guideway and stations, which comprise the third segment of the rail transit system. City Center construction is estimated to begin in the second half of 2025. Read more at honolulutransit.org.
Q: Can COFA migrants get SNAP? Does the state have interpreters for them? I know hard workers at fast-food places who would qualify, if they are eligible.
A: Yes, Compacts of Free Association citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are eligible for certain federal public benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as long as they meet income and other requirements, according to Hawaii’s Department of Human Services, which posts SNAP FAQs in Chuukese, Marshallese and Kosraean on its website. Learn more at humanservices.hawaii.gov/.
Mahalo
There are not enough mahalos in the world to express my appreciation for the fellow traveler who let me know that I was about to board my flight to Honolulu without my phone. I was ready to get on the plane in Lihue when he noticed an orphan phone and called out. I had plugged my phone into the wall to charge it while waiting for my flight and then forgot all about it. — Grateful passenger
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
