U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg toured the rail transit facility behind Leeward Community College and was welcomed to campus’ Hālaulani station for a ride on the Skyline metro to Halawa, during his February visit to Hawaiʻi. The station is located alongside Ala ʻIke Street and can be accessed from a building on the campus.
The station opened in June 2023 and is the only one in the system not built on elevated tracks. Officials from the State Department of Transportation and the City and County of Honolulu, including Mayor Rick Blangiardi, discussed the project with Buttigieg.
“It was a pleasure joining our city, state and federal officials in welcoming Secretary Buttigieg for his first ride on Skyline, and learning about how local culture and history are tied to the naming and art at the station, and its connection to Leeward Community College,” said Chancellor Carlos Peñaloza.
Prior to his Leeward CC visit, Buttigieg had been on Maui to see the devastation in Lahaina from the wildfires and meet with officials there about transportation projects. How climate change will impact shoreline roadways and more throughout the island state was another topic of discussion during his trip.
