Each year, ENR Southeast’s Top Starts ranking provides a snapshot of the region’s construction market, and that’s certainly true this year. But for the first time, the list includes ENR Southeast’s expanded geographic coverage area—which now includes Alabama, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.
The impact of the expansion is certainly evident at the top of the current list, which ranks the region’s largest contracts to start construction during the previous calendar year, based on total project cost. The National Nuclear Security Administration’s $6.5-billion non-nuclear reactor uranium process facility project in Oak Ridge, Tenn., was by far the largest project to break ground in 2016. Also, the construction boomtown of Nashville makes numerous contributions to the ranking, with a massive mixed-use project, hospital expansion and a state museum facility all making the list.