I wonder, seriously, what brought the owl. Don’t owls need water just like every other creature? Could the excavation have brought both that and a shelter for the owl’s normal food?
Good science deserves to prevail here. Just because there’s a rare birdie around doesn’t mean that construction activity is going to make it go away.
I live in a very urban area crisscrossed with numerous interstate and other divided limited access highways ~ AND ~ we had an eagle nesting in a tree in my backyard.
Actually, many species 'flock' to activity by 'man', because they know what slobs most people are, and that they don't eat all their food, and throw 'out' the remains, which the animals then feed on.
I was at a Mexican style restaurant that had outside eating accommodations.
The birds were there, just waiting, and fearlessly flew in to pick up any scrap discarded on the ground.