Dive Brief:

• The city of Honolulu planned to send about 150 construction workers back to jobs building a rail transit system that a federal court challenge has had sitting on hold for a year.
• Backers say the $5.3 billion project—the biggest public works project Hawaii's ever had—will help ease traffic congestion and has to go forward.
• Opponents say the city did not adequately study alternative plans and that it's odd to start up again when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has not ruled yet.

Dive Insight:

Perhaps the argument by Honolulu officials will be that it's crazy to stop something as far along as the rail line will be with workers going back on the job, but it seems that opponents have a good point about the court not yet having ruled on challenges. If the issue turns out to be correcting paperwork rather than deciding to do the project, the city will look good for having gotten things going again, and the local construction industry will be happy.