Several municipal heating, ventilation and air conditioning projects on the Island that have ballooned in price recently, driven up as towns look to replace aging equipment but have no on-Island specialists to carry out such large jobs.

The addition of plastic trim at the oldest retail store on Martha’s Vineyard has officials in West Tisbury questioning whether they should allow new modern construction materials on historic buildings.

The Steamship Authority’s multi-year reconstruction of its Woods Hole terminal is now fully focused on the land side of the property, where the longtime staging area for Vineyard-bound vehicles was recently demolished.

Island boards of health reported six new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as Oak Bluffs and West Tisbury joined Edgartown in swiftly approving new construction guidelines.

Martha’s Vineyard public health officials were planning to reintroduce Islandwide restrictions on the construction and building industry Thursday.

Martha’s Vineyard towns are seeing a boom in residential construction projects, as building demands soar both up-Island and down. The majority of the activity is in renovations.

Selectmen and boards of health in six towns have agreed to further loosen restrictions on construction and other trades effective May 11.

Building and landscaping projects stuttered back into gear for the first time in more than a month, as one and two-person crews returned to work under strict guidelines.