Not being seen as just a megaproject contractor helped them navigate the downturn, according to both Calbert and Kelton. The Southwest offices of McCarthy went after any and all jobs when the economy soured, which helped them avoid significant layoffs.

"It was an investment," Kelton says. "And for me, that is what defines McCarthy. It's easy to say things when times are good, but it's another thing to actually do it when times are tough."

The "tough" times weren't just about the lack of jobs, but having jobs cancelled, according to Ray Sedey, vice president and head of the firm's Las Vegas office.

In 2011, McCarthy was awarded the contract to build a new city of Las Vegas Water Pollution Control Facility. Later on, the city decided the new facility was no longer needed. "It was supposed to be a $100-million project, but six to nine months after it was awarded it was decided that they weren't going to do it anymore," Sedey says.

Instead of getting frustrated, McCarthy pursued a more modest renovation project of the city's existing facility, and in the end was awarded that job—at a smaller price tag of about $20 million.

The project began in 2013 and included installation of approximately two miles of electrical duct banks in existing roads to supply three new power feeds. A 6-ft by 10-ft concrete structure was also installed to allow the headworks building to be bypassed.

"We are kind of an anomaly," Sedey says. "We don't look at one type of work. We're not just in the business of hospitality and gaming."

The Rebirth of Big Projects

A commitment to small jobs and maintaining their work force paid off for McCarthy as the economic tide began to turn over the past several years, says Calbert. While the firm is still pursuing smaller jobs, larger-scale projects such as the Sky Train in Phoenix, the Hakkasan in Las Vegas and others are also being performed by the general contractor's project teams.

McCarthy and Kiewit are engaged in a $124-million joint venture at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix that will extend the airport's new intra-airport Sky Train system. Known as phase 1a, construction includes the complete fixed facilities for the extension of the Sky Train from just west of the Terminal 4 station through and including Terminal 3, a 2,992-linear-ft extension of the guideway system from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3, a new 37,500-sq-ft station at Terminal 3 and a connector bridge over Sky Harbor Blvd.

The project also includes renovations to Terminal 3, the installation of nine retaining walls totaling 2,795 linear ft and two 80 linear ft taxiway bridge extensions. By the time the project is complete in 2015, the phase 1a extension will be supported by 55 caissons with depths ranging from 60 to 125 ft.

"One of the things that really hit me on the project is that there are really tight tolerances," says Kelton. "It was really heavy structural concrete and electrical, and we had to build that to 1/16th of an inch. There are a lot of moving parts at that airport. It's like a ballet."