The city of Honolulu on Nov. 17 signed a project labor agreement with 12 building trade unions that will pay workers prevailing wages and protect the city against strikes or lockouts during construction of the $5.5-billion Honolulu Rail Transit Project. “When you have a project of this magnitude, you want to make sure there is no work stoppage,” says a project spokesman. Construction of the 20-mile elevated rail project is to begin in late January, with Vancouver, Wash.-based Kiewit Pacific Co. building the 6.5-mile design-build first phase from Kapolei to Pearl Highlands. The entire project, from Kapolei to Ala Moana, is to finish in 2019. The city also is accepting proposals for the project’s next phase.