VENTURA : Concrete Strike Delays City Project
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Striking concrete workers have prompted a delay in completion of a $3.6-million effort to spruce up downtown Ventura.
City officials, who were planning a reception on the steps of Ventura City Hall on Saturday night to commemorate the completion of the months-long project, said the ceremony and the long-planned ArtWalk will go on as scheduled.
“The work stoppage happened without warning,” city engineer Mark Watkins said in a statement released Thursday. “We’re so very close to being finished.”
City officials are inviting area artists to transform the rough and unpaved section of California Street into a temporary piece of art.
Special signs will be placed along the roadway to safely guide participants of the ArtWalk, a city promotional effort that highlights local artists.
Officials of the Operating Engineers union could not be reached for comment Thursday. But the work stoppage is believed to be the result of pay cuts imposed by asphalt and concrete company owners in Oxnard and Moorpark.
It is unclear how long the strike will delay completion of the renovation, which was launched in February to boost tourism.
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