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Vermont’s road construction got off to an early start Monday, with companies and state officials looking for a way to jump ahead of expected supply problems as the COVID-19 virus slows manufacturing and production nationwide.
Many Vermont companies are closing down at the order of Vermont Gov. Phil Scott to minimize the spread of the virus, which has sickened at least 75 people in Vermont and killed five. Scott has ordered the closure of K-12 schools and child cares, and of many small businesses, including bars and restaurants. He’s widely expected to issue a “shelter in place” order in the next few days that would effectively close others.
But construction workers can stay on the job without increasing the chances of infection because they are generally more than 6 feet apart from each other – the recommended standard issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for avoiding infection, said Matt Musgrave, who is director of government affairs for the Associated General Contractors of Vermont.
Musgrave said Monday that the AGC had been working with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, VTrans, over the last weeks to establish protocols and systems that would allow road and bridge construction to continue as most economic activity in Vermont grinds to a halt.
“When you go by a construction zone, a 6-foot separation is not just the norm, oftentimes they’re further apart from each other than that,” Musgrave said. “You have equipment operators who don’t get out of their equipment, you have flaggers. You have a relatively safe work zone, especially when you are working outside.”
The road construction season typically starts on April 15 in Vermont, and because it’s short, it’s intense, with projects snarling traffic around the state. This year, because of the COVID-19 shutdowns, there are far fewer vehicles on the road than normal.
A major downtown road project is generally bad news for downtown businesses, but Rep. Matt Birong, D-Vergennes, said he welcomed the news that the major road construction project outside his downtown restaurant, Three Squares, would start early. That way, it might end early, said Birong, who was looking ahead to the time when he could reopen Three Squares. Birong closed Three Squares, putting about 15 people out of work, on Sunday.
“I was happy to see they were bumping the project up to be executed during this downturn,” said Birong, whose restaurant has capacity for 49 inside and another 15 outside. “So once we get back on our feet, whatever the timeline looks like, whether it be weeks or months, this project would actually be well on its way because in this area of Addison County, tourism is a summertime business.”
Musgrave said builders wanted to move up the date of the season because they anticipate shortages in coming weeks and months.
“One could be staffing if people start to get sick,” said Musgrave. He added that companies will run split shifts to reduce the number of people who are working together at the same time. Extending the season – which generally lasts six months — will allow the companies more time for projects, and therefore more leeway in spreading the shifts out.
All of the contracts have timelines built into them, and extending the season will help builders comply with those contracts, he said.
“If they choose to, people can stick to April 15 if they’re not ready go to,” Musgrave said.
It was snowing in many areas of Vermont on Monday.
“Of course, the weather does affect certain things,” Musgrave added. “They aren’t necessarily going to be paving right now, but it gives them the opportunity to start staging the work zones and getting the materials out where they need to be.”
