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Commentary

John Pritchett: Gravy Train

By John Pritchett

August 25, 2024 · 1 min read

John Pritchett/Civil Beat/2024

About the Author

John Pritchett

John Pritchett is an award-winning cartoonist. He has created artwork in Hawaii for decades, including 20 years at the Honolulu Weekly. See his portfolio on the web at: pritchettcartoons.com. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.

A $1.6 billion contract for the last leg (at least for now) of the 18.9-mile rail line was awarded to its only bidder, Tutor Perini Corp. of Los Angeles, this month. Given the project’s troubled and costly history, what could possibly go wrong next?

(John Pritchett/Civil Beat/2024)

Read Civil Beat’s recent coverage of the contract.

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About the Author

John Pritchett

John Pritchett is an award-winning cartoonist. He has created artwork in Hawaii for decades, including 20 years at the Honolulu Weekly. See his portfolio on the web at: pritchettcartoons.com. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.

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When you think about a single bid contractor and hapless HART entity, intent on finishing rail at any cost, it's not surprising that the bid came in $300M over budget. Not only has that been rails legacy, but TP could do what ever they wanted an quote what ever number popped up because HART can't do a thing about it. And the great part is HART says it will find the money through cost savings. Really, so why are we so over budget if they now can come up with $300M in savings? Look for another tax extension in the near future.

wailani1961 · 3 months ago

Gravy train for politicians and contractors. Sour gravy for taxpayers.

macprohawaii · 3 months ago

Instead of a gravy train, this reminds me of the Cherokee’s Trail of Tears as they were forced to relocate to a reservation. As the taxpayer is bled of tax dollars for what the government touts as a benefit for their own good, the beleaguered taxpayer has to cope with the government’s persistence. I guess we don’t know what is the best for us?

Rampnt_1 · 3 months ago

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