Because construction projects are highly complex, collaborative, interdependent and long-lasting team efforts, the exact final cost is impossible to estimate.

With recent project execution issues and results surprises among publicly traded engineering and construction firms, some question traditional industry business models.

Contractors on the $2.7-billion Silver Line Metro extension in northern Virginia will protect or replace 1,569 precast concrete panels used on five stations after multiple issues were discovered on hundreds of the panels.

Even as hard-hit areas of two of the country’s most developed regions push for normalcy after back-to-back hurricanes in early September, policymakers and construction industry experts are weighing the longer-term implications of the damage in Houston, Florida and the Caribbean from Harvey and Irma—and how and whether infrastructure resiliency can be accelerated and how that will affect coastal development.