Other large bridge projects that were entered as December starts were $380 million for bridge construction in Stillwater, Minn., and $297 million for bridge construction on the I-35W reconstruction project in Texas.

The highway construction category also had a strong December, rising 19% with the help of $693 million allocated to highway work on the I-35W project in Texas. River/harbor development in December rose 21%, supported by the start of a $290-million seawall replacement project in Seattle. Sewer construction in December increased a moderate 6%, while water supply construction fell 6%.

The miscellaneous public works category (which includes such diverse project types as pipelines, mass transit and outdoor sports stadiums) dropped 14% in December, although it did include a $425-million stadium renovation project for Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

The electric utility category in December departed from its generally downward trend during 2013, rising 127%. Large powerplant projects included as December construction starts were two natural gas-fired plants located in New Jersey ($842 million) and Pennsylvania ($800 million), as well as three wind-power facilities located in Texas ($300 million and $200 million) and Oklahoma ($225 million).

For the full year 2013, nonbuilding construction dropped 12% to $142.7 billion. After achieving a record high in current dollar terms in 2012, new electric utility starts plunged 57% in 2013. In contrast, the public works portion of nonbuilding construction increased 9% in 2013, a resilient performance given concerns that tight government budgets would dampen activity.

Of the public works project types, bridge construction showed the largest percentage gain, climbing 55%. Aside from what was entered into the December construction start figures, large bridge projects in 2013 included the $3.1-billion Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project across the Hudson River in New York and $1.6 billion for work on the Ohio River bridges in the Louisville, Ky., and southern Indiana area.

With highway construction up 10% in 2013, highway and bridge construction together registered a 21% gain for the full year. The top five states for highway and bridge construction in 2013, ranked by the dollar volume of activity, were: Texas, New York, California, New Jersey and Virginia.

The environmental public works categories posted annual gains for 2013, as follows: river/harbor development, up 30%; water supply systems, up 10%; and sewers, up 1%. The miscellaneous public works category fell back 18% in 2013, following a 61% increase in 2012, due primarily to a sharply reduced amount of new petroleum and natural gas pipeline starts.

The 6% gain for total construction starts at the national level in 2013 was the result of gains in four of the five major regions. Showing the strongest growth was the Northeast, up 17%; followed by the Midwest, up 9%; the West, up 8%; and the South Central, up 3%. The South Atlantic was the one major region to experience a decline in 2013, dropping 3%.

The South Atlantic’s shortfall reflected the comparison to 2012 that included the start of two massive nuclear facilities, located in Georgia and South Carolina. If electric utilities are excluded from the construction start statistics in the South Atlantic, then total construction for that region in 2013 would be up 19%.