West O'ahu commuters could one day have the option of paying $2 in tolls to sneak in and out of town during rush hour under a proposal to link 'Ewa and downtown with bridges over Ford Island and Pearl Harbor.

Two councilmen who clashed this month when voting to raise taxes to fund a mass transit system now want the city to release $350,000 to pay for a study on a proposed 'Ewa-Ford Island bridge system.

The Honolulu City Council is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss plans for the bridges proposed by council members Todd Apo and Charles Djou.

"There's definitely strong support in the community," said Apo, who represents Leeward O'ahu and thinks the bridges could add to what will likely be a rail transit system.

The plan would extend the Kapolei Parkway Project with the construction of two bridges: one between 'Ewa and the Waipi'o Peninsula and a second over Pearl Harbor to Ford Island. Vehicles would then merge onto Kamehameha Highway near Aloha Stadium using the existing Ford Island bridge exit.

Lt. Barbara Mertz, a spokeswoman for Navy Region Hawai'i, said the project is "infeasible" because of "safety and operational restrictions as well as the Navy's responsibility for historic preservation at Ford Island, which must be taken into account."

Djou said that in private talks, the Navy "was interested but not able to commit" to the project and said he hoped the study would convince them otherwise.

The planned bridges would likely be two lanes wide, with both ways cleared for town-bound traffic in the morning and in the opposite direction in the afternoon. Some space could be left between lanes for a future rail transit system, Apo said.

A rail system is not expected to be available until 2012, and Djou said the bridges could be built within the next three years to give commuters more immediate relief.

Djou said the estimated $100 million to build the bridges could come from federal dollars and possibly defense money because the roads could be of interest to the Navy.

"It's a viable idea if you want to clear traffic now," Djou said. "I think this can be done."

Rod Haraga, director of the state Department of Transportation, said he was unaware of the plan, which he thinks could work if the Navy allowed bridges to be built near its facilities.