Hundreds of protesters in Hawaii have blocked the construction of what would become one of the world's largest telescopes.

Native Hawaiians say the billion-dollar, 18-story observatory called the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will harm sacred land on the Big Island's Mauna Kea mountain. The protesters gathered more than 9,000 feet up the mountain to block workers who intended to install fencing near the summit.

Construction crews eventually turned around and retreated from the site. Officials said Hawaii County police made one arrest while state Department of Land and Natural Resources police arrested 11 others.

Prior to this, the project was stalled for months after protesters blocked access to the mountaintop in April. In May, Gov. David Ige agreed to decommission "as many telescopes as possible" in the surrounding areas "with at least 25 percent of all telescopes gone by the time TMT is ready for operation."

Once again construction has been put on hold, but according to Mike McCartney, Ige's chief of staff, crews will work to clear the roadways Thursday.

"For the safety of our team, we made the decision to bring them off the mountain and we are planning to resume when the issue is resolved," the chair of the TMT International Observatory Board, Henry Yang, said in a statement.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.