HART receives $49.5 million in GET revenue for rail construction

News Release from City & County of Honolulu July 25, 2014

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) received $49.5 million in General Excise and Use Tax (GET) surcharge revenue this past quarter for construction of the Honolulu rail project.

The State Department of Taxation notified HART of the recent GET quarterly revenue installment, which covers the period of March through June of this year.

"We now have collected nearly $1.3 billion in surcharge revenue for rail construction," said HART Executive Director and CEO Dan Grabauskas. "The local funding revenue and the $1.55 billion in secured federal funding show the financial picture for our project remains strong."

The half-percent GET surcharge for Oahu, which by law can only be used for Honolulu's rail system, began in January 2007 and is set to expire at the end of 2022. The surcharge is estimated to fund nearly 70 percent of the project's cost, with the remaining balance to be paid for with federal funds.

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HART completes the first in a series of embossed columns

News Release from City & County of Honolulu July 25, 2014

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) has completed its first embossed column as part of a series of special column designs connected with the project's station development program.

The column is one of eight that will support the guideway for the Hoopili station in East Kapolei and will feature the same pattern. All of the project's 21 stations will have patterns unique to the area's ahupua'a. The patterns are designed to tell the historic and cultural stories of each community where the stations are located.

The Hoopili embossed columns honor the natural elements that nourished the agricultural lands and the story of the Honouliuli ahupua'a. The pattern depicts the flow of wind, coral representing the foundation and the area's beginnings, sea salt beds, and the symbolic first planting of the ulu tree that grew plentiful in this area. The design also incorporates rain and the sun as it rises over Puuokapolei, which marked the seasons for planting and harvesting crops.

"These columns are designed to reflect the richness of the history and the culture of the ahupuaa along the rail route," said HART Executive Director and CEO Dan Grabauskas. "These columns are just one of many things that will make our system unique."

The embossed column designs were done by local architect and designer Daniel Kanekuni with WCIT Architecture.

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