Scramble to house Ford Megasite workers begins [View all]

Celebrations for the $5.6 billion Ford Motor electric truck and battery plant are over as state and local officials run headlong into the reality of a massive construction project.

Ford has inked a contract with Detroit, Michigan-based Walbridge, a global contractor that specializes in large manufacturing projects for Ford and General Motors, and ground is expected to be broken in March, according to state officials.

But before local leaders get too excited about the impact of the 5,800-employee plant on the 4,100-acre Haywood County state-owned site, they’ve got to figure out how to play host to some 30,000 construction workers who will descend on the tract over the next three years. Blue Oval City, which is projected to be Ford’s largest and most environmentally friendly manufacturing plant, is slated to open in 2025.

State Sen. Page Walley, a Bolivar Republican who represents Haywood County and much of rural West Tennessee, estimates about 6,000 workers will be building the electric truck and battery plants at any given time. Figuring out where those people live, eat and play during their time on the construction site is part of the equation.

Read more: https://tennesseelookout.com/2022/02/22/scramble-to-house-ford-megasite-workers-begins/