It was reported late Tuesday that Governor Whitmer is planning to reopen all construction on May 7th. This news came days after MITA and several other groups had suggested that our industry should be one of the first economic sectors to get started again after the Stay Home, Stay Safe order was put in place nearly six weeks ago. It is expected that she will officially announce this through an Executive Order on Friday, May 1st.
As she has stated over the past few weeks, the decision comes after reviewing data of the spread of COVID-19 and the amount of risk associated with the type of work. As construction is generally outside, and many tasks can be performed using effective social distancing, it will be one of the first industries to be opened.
The Governor has relied on information from the Michigan Economic Recovery Council (MERC) on how to safely reengage the economy as the state slows the spread of COVID-19. The group has made several recommendations on how the economy can be opened safely and effectively. MITA staff offered recommendations to MERC on the safety measures that industry should be following as work resumes, and these protocols will follow the guidelines that have been laid out by MITA in bulletins over the last several weeks.
This is great news for MITA members not working on “essential infrastructure projects”, which has continued throughout the pandemic. Several member firms have reached out to MITA to express their desire to get back to work in order to continue to keep their employees working and to support Michigan’s economy. This move should open up most construction projects that have been put on hold, including private commercial, residential and other local projects, but communication with owners/primes/subcontractors/
As more information becomes available, MITA will report to its members. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at mikenystrom@thinkmita.org or Lance Binoniemi, Vice President of Government Affairs, at lancebinoniemi@thinkmita.org.
