Pipeline Lowest in 16 Years: Additional $41 M Secured for Highways in Hawai‘i

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Highways Division will receive an additional $41,149,572 in funding for its Federal-aid Highway Program through the Federal Highways Administration Fiscal Year 2017 fund redistribution.

Governor David Ige made the announcement saying Hawaiʻi’s share of the funding is the largest among states of similar size determined by number of lane miles.

With the additional money, Hawaiʻi will receive a total of $193 million in new highway funding this federal fiscal year from the Federal-aid Highway Program.

“When I took office, I promised to make better use of federal transportation funds, and I’m proud to report that the pipeline is now the lowest it’s been in 16 years,” said Gov. David Ige. “The HDOT team has cleared $245 million and put that money to work on highway improvements in our communities to improve the quality of life for Hawaiʻi’s residents. In two and a half years we have successfully reduced the pipeline from nearly $750 million to $505 million. I thank the HDOT team for its commitment to achieving the goal.”

“The fact that Hawaiʻi was able to receive additional federal money is a testament to all the hard work the HDOT staff has done to bring down the federal pipeline,” said Division Administrator Ralph Rizzo, of the Federal Highway Administration’s Hawaiʻi Division.

The pipeline, also known as the unexpended federal balance, is the difference between what is obligated for all projects and what each state has expended and has been reimbursed for by the federal government. Every state carries an unexpended balance because of the reimbursement nature of the program and the time it takes to deliver projects.

Gov. Ige said the state will continue to make positive progress in reducing the pipeline and is on its way to reaching the agreed upon goal of $450 million in FFY 2018. As of Aug. 31, 2017 the pipeline was $505 million (the goal for the end of FFY 2017 was $525 million).

The projects that will benefit from the additional funding are:

• H-1 Freeway Eastbound Improvements
• Kūhiō Highway Resurfacing
• Kūhiō Highway Safety Improvements
• Hawaiʻi County’s Mamalahoa Highway Project