Stop H-3 Ass'n v. Dole ex rel. United States Department of Transportation

PREGERSON, Circuit Judge:

I. BACKGROUND

This appeal involves the construction of an interstate highway project in Hawaii which has been the subject of litigation now spanning some sixteen years.1 The *1422litigation began in 1972, when the Stop H-3 Association sought permanently to enjoin construction of the highway, known as the H-3 project, out of concern for its impact on the environment. That same year the parties worked out a stipulation providing that construction would proceed at both ends of H-3, but would cease in the central portion of the highway pending a trial on the merits.2 The…