Several years ago, my sister moved lots of hybrid irises from Massachusetts to Missouri, where they stayed in a cardboard box in her garage for a couple of years when she planted some and sent the rest to me in upstate NY. I planted them, and didn't get blooms the first year, but every year after that, they put on a glorious show.

They won't bloom if they are planted too deep, so keep them shallow :-)

these are in Michigan you say? is there any way you can put a tarp over them held down by a few rocks & tell the construction crew to stay away from the tarp area. if they are left uncovered then the crew won't know to stay away, but if they are covered up they will be more likely to remember to leave that area alone. are they in the way of the new basement or house area? if so, then they can be moved if need be. I have my iris in a couple of kiddie pools & a few are now with buds on. all I did was add as many as I could to 2 pools & with drainage in the bottoms. that was to get them away from the dang bindweed. yes you can pot them up, but you will probably need a lot of pots depending on how many you have. you could always just keep a couple of each patch's rhizome that you have & give the rest away if you want. they multiply on their own every year. I think I would start with a tarp though. it won't hurt them a bit for a while. at least until the crew gets used to leaving that area alone.