Hawai'i may get $127 million for highways

Advertiser Staff and News Services

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted to restore more than $20 million in federal highway money for Hawai'i that President Bush wanted cut from the budget.

Representatives, including Hawai'i's Patsy Mink and Neil Abercrombie, voted 410-5 to restore more than $4.4 billion in highway money to the Bush budget for the next year. Hawai'i's share of the total is about $127.2 million, said Mink and Abercrombie, both Democrats.

Bush's proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 provided $8.6 billion less for highways than originally projected, which reflected a decline in federal gasoline tax collections.

Hawai'i would have lost as much as $32 million if the full cut had been implemented.

Although the House is not restoring the full amount, road construction should still be able to continue as planned because projects traditionally are paid for over several years, industry officials have said.

"The $127 million Hawai'i will receive will go a long way towards stimulating Hawai'i's depressed economy and is critical to help alleviate the traffic problem," Mink said.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where 74 of the 100 senators have co-sponsored similar legislation.