McNeil Canyon Realignment Project On Hold Due To Labor Strike

A project to realign McNeil Canyon Road in Douglas County has been halted due to a strike by construction workers.

On Thursday, Douglas County officials released a statement saying the strike by members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 began this week, and is also impacting other road construction projects throughout Washington State.

The McNeil Canyon Road Realignment Project, which began on June 2, is being led by Kent-based Scarcella Brothers, whose workers are part of the strike.

No workers employed with Douglas County are part of the strike, but the County's transportation staff are reportedly in close contact with the managers of Scarcella Brothers to remain informed about the latest details and evaluate schedules.

Douglas County road maintenance crews will be performing dust control at the construction site on a daily basis until the strike is over and contracted workers get back on the job.

The County says it's too early to approximate how long the strike will last or what kind of impacts it will have on the project, which is re-routing just over a mile of McNeil Canyon Road to the north of its existing alignment to enhance safety and modernize the roadway.

The $4.2 million project, which is being jointly funded by the County and the County Road Administration Board's Rural Arterial Program, was scheduled to be largely completed by November.