ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

Rail officials tried to get this work done under a prior contract. They say this new deal will finally solve one of the project’s biggest obstacles.

Consultants and structural engineers are still assessing just how serious the cracking is in the piers that support several West Oahu stations.

City contractors have advised that no passengers be allowed on seven station platforms until they have a better grasp of the issue, rail officials said.

A  track consultant pressed HART officials for two years for the rail agency to make key changes that would make the system safer and more operable. They dismissed him in February.

It’s not clear why HART is moving ahead before confirming which environmental approvals are needed and how long they might take.

The rail agency hasn’t said who was responsible, but it assured they’re no longer working on the project.

Meanwhile, questions remain about the overpayments that were also made as part of the same widespread problems.

Ridership on the truncated line would be nearly 30% less than previous estimates, but the city would complete the system to South Street by 2031.

An average of 119,600 people were originally expected to board the trains each weekday, but that will drop to 84,000 daily riders with the shorter route.

Project officials stress that they’re still fully committed to getting rail to Ala Moana, but it’s still not clear financially how that would happen.