Work is under way at a $15.4-million, stimulus funded Johnson County, Kan., wastewater treatment plant upgrade that is expected to cut greenhouse- gas emissions by 9,700 metric tons annually. While officials involved with the project say the process for obtaining the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARA) funding has gone smoothly, they add that the law’s Davis-Bacon requirement could inflate the cost of the project significantly. Overland Park, Kan. Photo: CH2M Hill Crews build anaerobic digesters as part of waste-to-energy upgrade at a Kansas treatment plant. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects The project
Three contracts funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are helping speed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ rehabilitation of the Markland Lock, near Warsaw, Ky., on the Ohio River. The contracts come after a catastrophic malfunction put the lock’s downstream gates out of commission. Warsaw, Ky. Photo: USACE Workers rig a crippled gate in the Ohio river’s Markland Lock for removal. A mishap on Sept. 27 put the gate, scheduled for replacement in 2011, out of commission. Stimulus funding is helping the Corps push recovery by letting more parts of the lock rehabilitation program go off at once.
In November, installation will begin on the new barrier wall of the Wolf Creek Dam, which the National Dam Safety Program in 2005 gave the highest risk rating for failure. Wolf Creek, Ky. Photo: Angelle Bergeron/ENR Draw down of reservoir allows crews to build protective concrete embankment wall for Wolf Creek Dam. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects The $584-million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wolf Creek Dam Remediation project in Jamestown, Ky., on the Cumberland River would have come to a screeching halt in July when $54.5 million in fiscal year 2009 funds
Through the first eight months of this year, construction starts totaled $274.8 billion, down 33% from 2008, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, of which ENR is a unit. However, on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, starts in August were up 2% over July, as the public-works sector started to see “early signs of support from federal stimulus funding,” says Robert Murray, MHC senior vice president and chief economist. The non-residential building market has eased from severe declines in late 2008 and early 2009, he says. But that market “still faces considerable constraints, such as mounting vacancies, tight bank lending standards and
Some economist have dubbed the current economic troubles “The Great Recession” to differentiate it from the Great Depression of the 1930s. While there are significant differences between the two economic calamities, there is one striking similarity: a sharp and prolonged decline in construction costs. Source: Turner Construction. Year-to-year percent changes for selling price of construction. Turner’s cost index Source: BLS. Forecast by IHS Global Insight Blip in Lumber Prices Source: IHS Global Insight Housing starts firm Related Links: Industry Has Little Confidence About Near-Term Market Gains Medical Costs Trump Savings From Safety Recession Steadies Prices For Liquid Paving Product Airport
The House has taken another stab at steering federal funds to school construction. The chamber on Sept. 17 approved a measure that would authorize more than $6.5 billion for public-school and community-college projects. The provision is part of a bill that would expand the federal college-loan program and curtail private lending in that sector. The focus now moves to the Senate, where the fate of the construction proposal is uncertain. The measure would authorize $2.02 billion annually for fiscal 2010 and 2011 to modernize, renovate or repair K-12 public schools. Another $2.5 billion would be available for new construction or
Rising medical costs are driving up workers’ compensation costs despite the success of safety programs in reducing the frequency and severity of construction accidents. “There are a number of competing factors affecting rates,” says Mary Ann Krautheim, client strategy officer for Aon Risk Services’ Construction Services Group, Boston. Incident rates are dropping because of increased safety measures, as well as a drop in the labor force due to the recession. Lost-time payments are declining, but the cost of claims is rising. “Medical inflation is countering the positive trends,” Krautheim says. “So it’s a push-pull relationship.” Related Links: Competition Intensifies as
The construction industry continues to be stuck in a major recession, and, for most firms, the end is not in sight. But the latest ENR Construction Industry Confidence survey shows some industry leaders sense that mid-2010 may show the beginning of some relief from the drought. + Image How Different Groups View the Market Related Links: Competition Intensifies as Recession Deepens Medical Costs Trump Savings From Safety Recession Steadies Prices For Liquid Paving Product Airport To Squeeze Fuel Costs With Hydraulic Hybrid Pickup Lower Materials and Bid Costs Help States Push Projects Construction Squeeze Takes Toll As Wage Hikes Flatten
The Associated Builders and Contractors released its latest Construction Backlog Indicator on Sept. 22, which shows an 8.9% increase in backlogs in July for its members who were surveyed. On average, the CBI shows backlogs increasing from 5.6 months to 6.1 months. “While the July increase was significant, June was the lowest point for the CBI since ABC started the indicator in November 2008,” says the association's chief economist, Anirban Basu. He says the downturn may be over for the nonresidential market.
The $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has about $130 billion slated for construction. While much of the money is slow in coming, the first wave of funded projects typically were repaving and other quick, off-the-shelf highway projects. These had contractors scrambling and bidding ferociously, keeping prices at bare-bone levels and opening the door for even more construction projects. Photo: Michael Moore Source: Florida DOT Three quarter moving bid-price index Related Links: Competition Intensifies as Recession Deepens Industry Has Little Confidence About Near-Term Market Gains Medical Costs Trump Savings From Safety Recession Steadies Prices For Liquid Paving Product Airport To
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