Pennsylvania appears to be the first state to suspend road and bridge construction in response to the growing COVID-19 crisis, as both the state Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission ordered contractors to halt work on current projects for two weeks as of midnight March 17.
[For ENR’s latest coverage of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here]
“Projects that were in progress are being inspected to make sure everything is secured, and that there are no dangers to travelers,” says PennDOT spokesperson Alexis Campbell. PennDOT’s district offices, motorist licensing offices and welcome centers are closed as well, while toll roads are operating with only electronic payment systems. PennDOT and Turnpike will continue to provide emergency repair maintenance work as needed.
The only project that appeared to carry over into the daylight hours was removal of traffic maintenance staging equipment at a Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnel renovation in the south-central portion of the state.
The move follows Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) directive extending a Philadelphia-area shutdown of non-essential government offices businesses to all 67 counties.
坎贝尔说，虽然关闭至少将持续到3月底，但情况正在不断审查。目前尚不清楚暂停将如何影响合同的完成时间表，包括激励和罚款。
她说：“我们一直与行业保持联系，并找出最好的前进方法。”她指出，如果在高峰建设季节发生，关闭的影响可能会更大。
Robert Latham, executive vice president of Associated Pennsylvania Constructors, credited PennDOT for its efforts to keep everyone safe amid the crisis, but noted that no other state has taken such a drastic move.
莱瑟姆（Latham）的小组已被警告，他对即将关闭的命令提醒，他希望如果其他州列继续他们的建筑运营，宾夕法尼亚州将迅速重新考虑其决定。他指出，即使波士顿已经停止了垂直建筑项目，马萨诸塞州交通运输部仍保持运营。18luck官网
他说：“我们知道Penndot对关闭命令搁置了22亿美元的行业，”他说，但这对工人和失业薪酬制度也应考虑在内。
他补充说：“如果看来可以安全地恢复施工运营，我希望他们会早日这样做。”
到目前为止，宾夕法尼亚州邻国的运输建设活动仍然不间断。
特拉华州DOT发言人路易丝·霍尔特（Louise Holt）说：“正如目前的情况一样，我们所有的项目及其相关阶段都像往常一样。”18luck官网“我们想竭尽所能维持运输行业。”她补充说，该机构正在与特拉华州的承包和工程社区“保持密切联系”。
在俄亥俄州，学校和餐厅关闭也有效，交通运输部秘书马特·布鲁宁（Matt Bruning）表示，该机构的项目都没有被Covid-19延迟。18luck官网
“In fact, it’s a great time to be in the construction industry as those workers already practice social distancing,” Bruning added.
