The Colorado Dept. of Transportation says that nearly 200 miles of highway and more than 24 bridges will be under construction in the northeastern section of Colorado, with costs totaling more than $130 million. That includes projects in Boulder, Cheyenne, Elbert, Kit Carson, Larimer, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma counties. This construction work does not include routine CDOT maintenance projects, which are also under way on a daily basis. Major 2013 construction projects in northeastern Colorado are listed below.• I-76 Brush to Fort Morgan Reconstruction: The $37.6-million project will reconstruct I-76 in both directions from mile
After nearly four years of construction, the Utah Transit Authority and Salt Lake City have officially opened the six-mile light rail line linking Salt Lake City International Airport to the existing 20 miles of light rail and wider mass transit system along the Wasatch Front. Photo by Brian Fryer The $209-million light-rail project was brought in under budget and two months ahead of schedule. The $209-million project was brought in under budget and two months ahead of schedule by the joint venture team of Stacy and Witbeck and Kiewit Western. The project included the light rail tracks to the airport
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is reflecting a steady upturn in design activity. The American Institute of Architects reported the March ABI score was 51.9, down from a mark of 54.9 in February. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 60.1, down from the reading of 64.8 the previous month. “Business conditions in the construction industry have generally been improving over the last several months,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “But as we have continued to report, the recovery has been uneven
Construction employment increased in 30 states in March as the industry expanded, but at a slower pace than in February, according to a recent analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials cautioned, however, that many states remain vulnerable to construction cutbacks from newly enacted and proposed decreases in federal funding for infrastructure. “A majority of states are adding jobs month by month and year-over-year,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The expansion appears poised to continue for residential and private nonresidential construction, but investment in infrastructure and public buildings is still on
New construction starts in March climbed 8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $475.7 billion, it was reported by McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of the McGraw-Hill Cos. The gain for total construction in March followed two months of decline and was led by a strong increase for the non-building construction sector (public works and electric utilities). At the same time, March witnessed slightly reduced activity for both housing and nonresidential building. During the first three months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $100.5 billion, unchanged from the same period a year ago.The latest
The new $135-million Energy Systems Integration Facility includes 15 labs that will do cutting-edge energy research and explore how to add renewable resources to the power grid. ESIF, part of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus in Golden, Colo., will perform tasks ranging from fuel-cell development to smart-power testing. But the entire facility is also a sustainability laboratory. Related Links: NREL Facility Earns Perfect Green Marks Golden Road Upgrades Improve NREL Access Even its construction is an experiment in how far contractors could take green building practices. Instead of building concrete retaining walls outside, for example, general contractor JE Dunn
Transportation, medical facilities and university upgrades dominated this year's ranking of the biggest projects in the Mountain States, although a handful of commercial and office projects made the list, good news for an area in need of a private-sector boost. Related Links: Design-Build Team Selected for Phase 2 of U.S. 36 Project Denver Union Station to Become a New Regional Hub To be ranked, projects had to be located in any of five states that comprise the Mountain States region. They could be any type of construction, from energy, heavy-highway and infrastructure work to new buildings and renovations. The list
The confidence of Colorado business leaders has surged going into the second quarter of 2013, according to the most recent Leeds Business Confidence Index, or LBCI, recently released by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. With waning uncertainty giving way to a stabilizing economy, the second quarter LBCI posted a reading of 58.1, a sharp increase from last quarter’s 51.3 reading. Expectations measured positive—at 50 or higher—for all of the metrics measured by the index. They include hiring and capital expenditures, the state and national economies, and industry sales and profits.For the first time, index participants were
Nonfarm payroll jobs in Colorado increased 10,800 from January to February to 2,352,900 jobs, according to a recent survey of business establishments by the Colorado Dept. of Labor and Employment. Private-sector payroll jobs increased 10,100 and government increased 700. According to the survey of households, the unemployment rate decreased one tenth of one percentage point over the month to 7.2%. The decrease in the unemployment rate was caused by a larger increase in the number of people reporting their status as employed than in the number of people actively participating in the labor force. The last time the Colorado unemployment
Construction spending rebounded in February with gains from depressed January levels in residential, private nonresidential and public investment, according to a recent analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that the rise in public investment was likely to be short lived and urged policy makers in Washington to make infrastructure investment a priority. “It is encouraging to see growth in both monthly and year-over-year totals in private residential and nonresidential construction spending,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “There are increasing signs that 2013 will be a good year for
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