Early autumn of 2010 may well have been the rock bottom point for the New York region�s design and construction market. That�s when it was clear that its few active sectors � healthcare, K-12 schools, and higher education � had backlogs drying up and new projects delayed, adding to gloom that had already enveloped private commercial and residential construction.
And then came the New Jersey governor’s announcement that the state was abandoning its commitment to the $8.7 billion Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel project – which would have built a passenger rail tunnel and stations for New Jersey Transit. The news deflated prospects for infrastructure, one of the market’s few funded sectors in the market, and carved out a low point that made a rebound in 2011 seem very unlikely.