PA Construction Reopens May 1, With These Rules In Place

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania has moved up the date that construction projects can resume during the coronavirus pandemic, provided employees follow a set of safety protocols and standards on the job site.

Construction in Pennsylvania will now resume May 1. Gov. Tom Wolf had initially targeted May 8 as the construction start date.

Wolf on Thursday issued guidance for all construction businesses and employees to follow in order to mitigate the spread of the virus. The guidance, developed by the General Contractors Association of Pennsylvania, includes an array of distancing and cleaning mandates.

The state's construction industry has been shut down since mid-March due to the coronavirus mitigation measures.

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Construction employees must wear masks and stay six feet apart from each other. Crew sizes will be limited, and hand washing stations must be present on the job site. Sanitizing protocols must be in place for high risk transmission areas.

For residential construction projects, no more than four people will be permitted on the job site at any time, not including workers who require temporary access to the site.

For non-residential or commercial projects, the number of workers permitted will vary depending on the size of the enclosed site.

Companies are asked to stagger shifts and breaks. Employees should limit tool sharing, and sanitize in the event that tools are shared.

Each businesses must identify a “pandemic safety officer” for each project or work site, or for larger construction projects, for each contractor at the site.

"Commercial construction firms should also strongly consider establishing a written safety plan for each work location containing site specific details for the implementation of this guidance to be shared with all employees and implemented and enforced by the pandemic safety officer," the governor's office said in announcing the guidance.

You can see the full guidance document here.

Local governments are allowed to establish more stringent requirements that businesses must follow, the governor said.

Additionally, all construction employees must adhere to the state order on mandatory safety protections at businesses currently permitted to be open during the coronavirus crisis.

The latest development comes as the governor has begun to chart the state's path towards reopening. Pennsylvania will use a color-coded system to categorize the status of each region as it reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic, Wolf explained earlier this week. Learn more.

>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania