(BIVN) – Exactly one-month after the scheduled start of construction on the Thirty Meter Telescope, without any progress on the project planned for Mauna Kea, TMT supporters have not given up hope.

On Thursday, about 100 people in favor of TMT lined the highway fronting the Hilo Walgreens to wave signs and demonstrate that their enthusiasm for the astronomy holds strong.

“As the polls recently showed, there are a lot of people who – in Hawaiʻi – are behind this project,” said Jason Chu, a post-doctoral fellow with Gemini Observatory, during a video interview conducted by Becker Communications and shared to media.

Chu said there are many “who believe in all the benefits that this project will give and so we are here to show the governor that there are people here who firmly believe that the project should go forward. And also for him to enforce law and open the roads up for for TMT to go up.”

“On Big Island, here with Mauna Kea, we have a very, very, valuable scientific resource,” Chu said. “We would love to share – with Native Hawaiians and everybody – share the beauty of the mountain and also share the scientific discoveries that can come from the mountain. And so we share that with the entire world and that will put Hawaiʻi on the map of the world.”