the first mile

City and rail officials eagerly showed off the transit system's first 220 feet of track on Wednesday and gave the first public view from atop the so-called elevated guideway 37 feet above farmland in East Kapolei.

"We're really seeing the project become reality," said Councilman Joey Manahan. "Today's the first of many milestones for the project."

After delays caused by a lawsuit and the failure to gain all necessary permits before construction began on the West Oahu/Farrington Highway segment, Dan Grabauskas, executive director and CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, said Wednesday that the first elevated guideway was slightly ahead of schedule.

Construction crews were supposed to have the first mile of elevated guideway ready by Wednesday for what will be the Ho‘opili Station, the third of 21 stations planned for the $5.26 billion project.

Instead, workers finished building a 1.25-mile stretch by Tuesday.

The track is laid down on the horizontal concrete guideway.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell got stuck in traffic driving from Honolulu Hale to Kapolei and said the 42-minute commute by rail from the start of the system at the Kroc Center Hawaii to Ala Moana Center will improve life for commuters.

Despite a misty, gray view from the top of the rain-soaked guideway Wednesday, Caldwell said people will be impressed when they finally see it close up.

"It's actually pretty darn nice," Caldwell said. "Most people will be pleased at how it looks. Visually, it's much narrower than the H-1 viaduct and the elevated freeway in Kahala."