Honolulu's mass-transit system "just has to happen," the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation Committee said yesterday.

"By damn, we're going to make it happen. It just has to happen," said Rep. Jim Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat visiting Hawai'i to review Honolulu's proposed light rail system and projects on Maui.

Oberstar said that Honolulu's mass-transit system "stands well ahead" of any other public transportation proposal nationwide that his committee is considering, including an expansion of the Washington Metro to Dulles Airport.

Honolulu can count on about $900 million in federal money to go toward the $3.7 billion rail system, Oberstar said.

"You've got less than a mile of space between the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other," he said. "How are you going to squeeze more lane miles of roadway? We have to do this transit project."

He envisions Honolulu's rail line, which would initially run from East Kapolei to Leeward Community College, as the most efficient light rail project in the country.

Because it will be elevated 20 feet above ground, the train won't have to stop at intersections or impede traffic, Oberstar said.

He flew over both Honolulu and Maui this week to view island needs from the sky.

On Maui, he supported plans for repairing earthquake damage to Pi'ilani Highway, improving Honoapi'ilani Highway, building reservoirs at Pi'iholo and modernizing Kahului Harbor.

"Seeing it by air, the fragility of life hanging onto these narrow roadways, they're vitally important to the people who live there," he said.

Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, accompanied Oberstar on his island tour as she sought his support. "It makes a huge difference when the chairman of the committee can personally see our needs," Hirono said at a news conference with Oberstar.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said he still hopes to break ground on the elevated rail line by the end of next year and get it running by 2012.

Hannemann is to meet with members of the Federal Transit Administration next week to discuss the project.