Following Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan for a green, yellow, red phased-in reopening of public and private construction, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that highway and bridge construction projects are resuming May 1.
PennDOT paused construction statewide on March 17 in accordance with the governor’s COVID-19 mitigation guidance. Since then, however, PennDOT did progressively continue to address critical construction projects and emergency needs, such as landslide repairs, crucial bridge, tunnel and drainage repairs, or any other roadway restrictions that could impede the ability to move life-sustaining goods and services.
“Our decision to pause construction was not made lightly, and we understand the importance of these projects to communities across Pennsylvania and to our industry partners,” Acting PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said. “Thanks to the swift, decisive actions of the administration and the cooperation of Pennsylvanians, the curve is starting to flatten and we’re now in a position to restart these important improvements to the transportation network.”
PennDOT projects are resuming with limited exceptions based on project-specific factors, including location and feasibility for social distancing and COVID-19 safety protocols established by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.
PennDOT will also be following a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan that was developed by a PennDOT-led multidisciplinary team with representation from the construction industry and the consulting engineering community as well as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the Federal Highway Administration.
“While we are all eager to return to work, it was critical to establish safety protocols to minimize COVID-19 exposure for PennDOT and private-sector employees, as well as the communities where they live and work,” Gramian said.
PennDOT is currently evaluating the schedule impacts on resumed projects due to COVID-19.