William Aila Jr., a Wai'anae Coast resident and plaintiff to the lawsuit originally filed in 2004, speculated that the Army may choose another route.

"I would look for a rider (to federal legislation) that would exempt Strykers in Hawai'i, or Strykers in the (Army's) transformation, from NEPA," Aila said.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who championed the Stryker brigade, obtained approval in 1986 of an extraordinary environmental exemption for the H-3 highway. The H-3 project was one of the first in the state to require an environmental impact statement under NEPA.