honolulutraffic.com

seeking cost-effective ways to reduce traffic congestion in Honolulu

HOT lanes funding

       A debate is now taking place within the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (USDOT) concerning the funding of HOT lanes and whether this should be funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FHA) or the Federal Transit Administration (FHWA).

       USDOT issued its new policy announcing a war on traffic congestion in May, 2006, and announced quite explicitly that congestion pricing and tolled highways were the mainstay of how that war would be waged.

       However, in December 2006, FTA announced that they would fund conversions of existing HOV lanes to HOT lanes but would not fund new HOT lanes much to the consternation of highway policy professionals since it seemed to contradict USDOT's new policy. Hence the current debate.

       We are awaiting the outcome but it appears that it is more a question of which agency does the funding rather than whether there will be any funding at all for HOT lanes. There is no reason to believe that the  $450 million available to rail according to the OMPO Draft Oahu Regional Transportation Plan will not be available for a HOT lanes (Managed Lanes) project.

       The other half of the $900 million needed for the HOT lanes project will come from City revenue bonds, which will be retired by toll revenues over a 30-year period.