2026-10-21 Infrastructure, Transportation & Technology

The Honolulu City Council Committee on Infrastructure, Transportation & Technology met on October 21, 2026 (the meeting metadata is dated October 22 UTC). The committee considered Resolution 26-226, which would grant easements for an undersea fiber-optic cable project connecting to a telecom facility at the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu. The city purchasing representative said the easement payment is $2.9 million and will go to the general fund; it is not earmarked for the project. The applicant estimated a separate community-benefit package at about $700,000, to be delivered through park improvements—including trees, irrigation, and fence repairs—rather than a cash payment. Members raised traffic-management and public-notification concerns, and the chair recommended reporting the resolution out for adoption; the transcript does not clearly capture a vote result. The project anticipates construction beginning near the end of 2026, with the first cable landing in March 2027.

The committee also received an update on city technology modernization: the longer-term Arizona MAX system was estimated at $16 million and two to three years to implement, with funding discussions involving the state Department of Transportation and private industry; the director cited current IBM mainframe costs of about $3 million annually. No modernization contract award was made. For the Pearl Highlands pedestrian bridge, the city reported a federal grant of just under $20 million and an engineering-support contract signed in September; a design-build procurement is targeted for 2028, with construction hoped to begin in 2030. The Department of Design and Construction reviewed public-works projects expected to go out to bid by year-end, without specific awards or project amounts stated. Other actions included advancing Bill 58 on shared micromobility parking for second reading and a public hearing, and approving the rail agency safety plan; neither discussion identified a related procurement award.