At midnight Tuesday, when Harris County placed Houston under a stay-at-home order, construction work was largely exempted from the local mandate because it was declared an essential industry.
But about 160 miles to the west, in Austin, Texas, most construction stopped Wednesday after the city and Travis County officials announced the industry wasn’t essential.
The differing restrictions between the two eastern Texas markets highlight the changing landscape construction companies face across the country as state and local jurisdictions establish shelter-in-place orders to check the novel coronavirus’ rapid spread.
“It is really market by market,” Gordon Lansford, president and CEO ...