HART’s 2022 Recovery Plan proposed an amendment to the original Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), a contract between the City and County of Honolulu and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) executed in 2012. The initial FFGA provided $1.55 billion in federal funding and outlined the project scope, 20 miles and 21 stations from East Kapolei to Ala Moana. However, when the project encountered challenges, HART submitted a 2022 Recovery Plan to the FTA, which proposed to truncate the project scope from the original 20 miles and 21 stations to 18.9 miles and 19 stations from the East Kapolei Station to the Civic Center Station; the FTA accepted this plan in September 2022.

The 2022 Recovery Plan also proposed the deferral of the Pearl Highlands Parking Garage. The scope change required an amendment to the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), which was necessary to maintain the funding needed to complete the remainder of the project.

Throughout 2023, HART collaborated with the FTA on amending the FFGA document, requiring approvals from various entities such as the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Congress, Governor’s Office, HART Board, City Council Committee on Budget, and Full City Council. By February 2024, the FFGA was executed, enabling the release of $125 million of the remaining $744 million federal funds, marking a significant milestone— the first appropriation from the FFGA in almost ten years.