The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased slightly in August, decreased in September. The index now stands at 79.7 (1985=100), down from 81.8 in August. The Present Situation Index grew to 73.2 from 70.9. The Expectations Index fell to 84.1 from 89.0 last month. Consumers’ appraisal of present-day conditions improved moderately. Those claiming business conditions are “good” increased to 19.5% from 18.7%, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” decreased to 23.9% from 24.5%.Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was also more favorable. Those saying jobs are “plentiful” increased slightly to 11.5% from 11.3%, while those saying jobs
FMI, a provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, says in its Q3-2013 Construction Outlook that market sectors will continue to shift through the rest of 2013, reducing annual construction-put-place predictions (CPIP) to $909.6 billion, down nearly $4 billion from previous predictions. Early forecasts for 2014 show annual CPIP will experience moderate growth of 7%, rising to $977 billion. Major market predictions in the Q3-2013 Construction Outlook for next year include:• Residential construction — FMI continues to forecast traction in residential construction. However, the growth is expected to taper off to 12% in 2014.
Denver's Regional Transportation District received proposals from four design and construction teams Sept. 23 for the North Metro project that will ultimately extend commuter rail north from Denver Union Station through Commerce City, Adams County, Thornton and Northglenn. The four competing teams are Bechtel/Herzog joint venture; Graham, Balfour Beatty, Hamon Contractors; North Metro Transit Solutions, a Kiewit/Stacy and Witbeck joint venture; and URS Energy and Construction Inc.The teams are responding to the request for proposals RTD released on June 28. Graham Contracting Ltd. first approached RTD in February with an unsolicited proposal. After reviewing the initial proposal, RTD staff determined
A new Energy Department study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) indicates that by 2025, wind and solar power electricity generation could become cost competitive without federal subsidies, if new renewable-energy development occurs in the most productive locations. The report, “Beyond Renewable Portfolio Standards: An Assessment of Regional Supply and Demand Conditions Affecting the Future of Renewable Energy in the West,” compares the cost of renewable electricity generation (without federal subsidy) from the West’s most productive renewable-energy resource areas—including any needed transmission and integration costs—with the cost of energy from a new natural gas-fired generator built near the
Residents along Colorado’s northern Front Range were still battling at mid-day Friday the effects of what state officials are calling “historically significant” rainfall and “biblical floods” along the foothills and across the Denver metro area. Photo courtesy of CDOT The heavy rains pushed rivers and streams above their historic flood levels and washed out highways, like State Highway 72 in Coal Creek Canyon west of Denver. Photo courtesy of CDOT Highway 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon west of Loveland, Colo., will be closed "indefinitely." Some communities, including Boulder and those along the I-25 corridor north to Fort Collins, have
The Kansas State University Wildcats took the field in early September in the shadow of the massive new West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan. The project, which included deconstruction of the existing Dev Nelson Press Box late last year, was completed on an extremely tight schedule. Work on the majority of the 218,000-sq-ft expansion project began in January, and a certificate of occupancy was awarded near the end of August, five days ahead of schedule. Photo courtesy of Mortenson/GE Johnson JV The landmark project serves as the new northwest gateway to the Kansas State University
The Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building, the newest addition to the Colorado State University campus, celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 12. The Scott Building is the second engineering building on the Fort Collins campus. Courtesy of CSU The building includes ample research space, teaching labs, design studios and a 24-hour study space. The $75-million, 122,000-sq-ft building occupies the southeast corner of Laurel Street and Meridian Avenue in Fort Collins. The building contains classroom and high-tech research space for about 40 faculty members in biomedical engineering; bioanalytic devices—sensors to detect a host of organic agents; synthetic biology, which
The city of Golden, Colo., will move significantly closer to its renewable-energy goals with a new solar photovoltaic (PV) project managed and delivered by HVAC specialty contractor McKinstry. The project was approved at the Aug. 22 city council meeting. Coupled with earlier work by McKinstry, around 10% of the city’s energy use will come from renewable energy. “Golden is a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Colorado,” said Phillip Saieg, McKinstry’s project lead. Solar panels will be placed at nine city facilities including the Tony Grampsas Gymnasium, the city’s maintenance shops, Splash at Fossil Trace, the 1250 Jackson Street Parking
Nearly three-fourths of construction firms across the country report they are having trouble finding qualified craft workers to fill key spots amid concerns that labor shortages will only get worse, according to the results of an industry-wide survey recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials called for immigration and education reform measures to help avoid worker shortages. “Many construction firms are already having a hard time finding qualified workers and expect construction labor shortages will only get worse,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America. “We need to take
Colorado will receive $10 million in a U.S. Dept. of Transportation TIGER grant to add a fixed fire-suppression system at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels (EJMT) on I-70 west. The system is one of 52 projects in 37 states across the nation selected to receive funding. Photo courtesy of CDOT The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, 11,158 ft in elevation and 50 miles west of Denver, will get a new fire-suppression system. The fire suppression system would not completely extinguish a vehicle fire in the tunnels but rather buy critical time needed for first responders to safely approach the scene and take action. Historically,
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