I have long admired Ben Cayetano for his candor, clarity of vision and the value he places on rigorous, open dialogue, so I trust he will accept these comments in the constructive spirit in which they are offered.

I lead the public involvement effort of Honolulu's rail transit project and am a consultant with InfraConsult LLC, the firm hired by the City and County of Honolulu to manage this project and oversee the work of Parsons Brinckerhoff, the general engineering consultant.

The former governor's column (Island Voices, July 1) completely disregards the intense scrutiny, oversight and supervision that the Federal Transit Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation exercise over this project. It is standard procedure on every federally funded transportation project of this magnitude. Federal officials are involved at every significant project milestone, and in all cases, the project must pass review and gain approval before subsequent work can be done.

Work is presently under way to complete a draft environmental impact statement, a highly regulated, strictly prescribed process with stringent state and federal requirements. This level of review leaves absolutely no margin for shoddy, conflict-compromised work.

Cayetano implies that because InfraConsult and Parsons Brinckerhoff are being paid for the work they're doing, their work is somehow compromised and the project's findings — the solutions that provide our city the best transportation service — are faulty.

The plain truth is that both of these firms are working on this project because they are extraordinarily qualified to do so and they were selected through a competitive, transparent selection process in accordance with state procurement law.

Honolulu's rail transit project is the largest public works project in Hawai'i's history. The 20-mile fixed guideway system is a tremendous undertaking, requiring the very best, most experienced teams available.

Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the world's leading planning, engineering and construction management firms. The company has worked on every major transit project in every state in our nation, including projects on behalf of the state of Hawai'i.

The principals of InfraConsult each has more than three decades of global transit experience and are widely recognized within the transportation industry for their individual and collective talents.

While several of the InfraConsult founders and staff and the current director of the city's Department of Transportation Services are former Parsons Brinckerhoff employees, all have been completely open and honest about this affiliation.

During DTS Director Wayne Yoshioka's confirmation hearing, the City Council questioned him at length about his employment with Parsons Brinckerhoff and how he would handle any real or perceived conflict. The council voted to confirm his appointment.

Finally, while Gov. Cayetano criticizes Mayor Mufi Hannemann for discussing the affiliations of some of the anti-rail activists, he apparently has no qualms about impugning the professional reputations of individuals who are working on this project.

Whether new to Hawai'i or lifelong residents, all of us working on this project are greatly honored to be involved with an effort that is going to improve the quality of life for generations to come. And we are grateful for the tireless support and visionary leadership that our entire congressional delegation and state and city government officials are providing to ensure that we succeed.

Elisa Yadao is with the Public Involvement Team for Honolulu's rail transit project. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.