Orange County’s transportation agency is pushing ahead with its construction projects – in some cases gaining speed while roads are unusually clear – but with precautions in place to protect workers during the coronavirus outbreak, the Orange County Register reports.
For example, workers in Sant Ana are installing a water pipeline on 4th Street from Ross Street to Spurgeon Street to lay the ground for the OC Streetcar. Other work is continuing to widen the 405 Freeway between the 605 Freeway and State Route 73.
Orange County Transportation Authority spokesman Eric Carpenter said in an email that workers are wearing gloves and other personal protective gear, and contractors are putting in additional measures to ensure the safety of their crew.
“Because construction of public transportation projects is considered an essential activity, OCTA and its partners are looking at adjusting construction schedules wherever possible to get as much construction work done as possible while continuing to keep safety as the top priority,” he said in an email to the newspaper.
Mayor Miguel Pulido said in a video address to residents that it’s “It’s a great time to accelerate construction” because of reduced traffic.
“We hope to get more of this work done in such fashion that we won’t impact the businesses that right now are closed anyways,” Pulido said. The OC Streetcar is scheduled to open by 2022, running 4.1 miles from Santa Ana to Garden Grove.
