Legislation Would Permit Construction Projects To Resume In PA

HARRISBURG, PA - Despite Gov. Tom Wolf's order mandating the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania amid the coronavirus outbreak, the state House is considering a measure that would permit public and private construction projects to resume.

House speaker Mike Turzai is introducing a bill that would allow construction work to begin as long as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for protecting workers and preventing the spread of COVID-19 are followed. The House State Government Committee is expected to vote on the legislation this week in an online session.

Wolf's shutdown edict currently runs through April 30 but could be extended depending on the severity of the outbreak in the next few weeks. Turzai, and Allegheny County Republican, noted that all other states with shelter-in-place orders have provided exemptions for construction personnel and activities.

“We need to allow economic activity that can be safely done following CDC protocols for mitigation to move forward," he said in a release. " Let’s start with construction. Projects started, small and large, need to continue. Mitigation efforts are or can be put in place.”

In a letter to colleagues requesting co-sponsorship of the bill, Turzai stated that state highway construction projects are critical to meet state residents' transportation and safety needs.

“Stopping these projects which are of an open-air nature makes no sense,” he wrote. “Additionally, the impact to PennDOT’s capital program will be costly in the form of ‘delay claims’ that PennDOT will be contractually obligated to pay idled construction companies. These
claims could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.”