| Engineering News-Record

Artificial Intelligence

Power Hungry: AI-Fueled Data Center Boom Sets Energy Delivery’s New Course

Debra K. Rubin

Johanna Knapschaefer

July 24, 2025

One Comment

As forecasts for AI demand push expansion of data centers and power infrastructure into hyper-blitz, what are the developing impacts of those growth trends?

Water System Builds Cleaner Future for Buenos Aires River

Three integrated projects represent major Investment to reduce pollution and improve public health in Argentina’s dirtiest river basin

Pam McFarland

July 23, 2025

No Comments

Three integrated projects represent a major investment to reduce pollution and improve public health in Argentina’s dirtiest river basin.

Government

Twenty States Challenge Dismantling of FEMA Resilient Infrastructure Program

Pam McFarland

July 18, 2025

No Comments

FEMA's acting chief and his successor lacked legal authority to dismantle its infrastructure resilience program, states argue in a federal district court lawsuit.

Multiple high‑value awards—from Air Force and NAVFAC vehicles to Navy V‑22 retrofit kits and USTRANSCOM ocean‑liner services—were announced by the Department of Defense.

Government

US Defense Dept. Announces $25B+ in New IDIQ Contract Awards

Large flexible indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts and task orders advance project procurement for military infrastructure

Bryan Gottlieb

July 14, 2025

No Comments

Pentagon selected firms for flexible indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts, and awarded other large contracts.

Bridge Conference Highlights Digital Delivery, Connecting Communities

Aileen Cho

July 20, 2025

No Comments

Pennsylvania agencies at the International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh discussed their goals for project delivery and asset management.

Brad Jacobs has rung the NYSE Opening Bell 11 times — his first was in 1997 and his most recent, above for QXO, in 2025.

Q&A

Ten Minutes with QXO CEO Brad Jacobs

Inside the billionaire’s playbook on best practices, AI-integrated technology and ethics

Bryan Gottlieb

July 16, 2025

No Comments

Market maker and serial entrepreneur Brad Jacobs’ outlines his QXO playbook: disciplined M&A, tech‑driven consolidation, AI‑powered pricing and logistics and unified branding to reshape building‑products distribution.

Environment

One-third of Federal Superfund Sites Are at Risk as Sea Level Rise Quickens

Esther D'Amico

July 10, 2025

No Comments

EPA Inspector General report says many at-risk sites—all military facilities—are near population centers and important ecological areas.

Dubai’s Metro Blue Line will cover 30 kilometers with 14 stations, managed by Parsons as the project management consultant under a $218 million contract.

Transit Megaprojects

Dubai Taps Parsons to Deliver Ambitious Metro Expansion

Parsons to lead five-year rollout of fully automated, 14-station corridor connecting rapidly expanding neighborhoods in $5.6-billion project

Bryan Gottlieb

July 10, 2025

No Comments

Parsons will oversee Dubai’s $5.6B Metro Blue Line, a 30-km, 14-station driverless rail set to open in 2029 and serve 320,000 riders daily, advancing the emirate’s economic and sustainability goals.

Crews will upgrade a three-mile section of Interstate 215 in Salt Lake City, including ramps and bridges, under Granite Construction’s $111 million contract with the Utah DOT.

Transportation

Granite Construction Wins $111M Utah Interstate Rehab Contract

Project includes 175,000 tons of asphalt overlay, 22 bridge rehabs and new ramp metering equipment

Bryan Gottlieb

July 15, 2025

No Comments

Total $190 million overall project budget, a blend of state and federal funds, will support work set to conclude by late 2026.

Workers wearing hardhats and yellow vests clean up in the aftermath of a flood, with debris seen on either side of a bridge

Disasters

Insufficient Risk Mapping, Overdevelopment Cited in Texas Flood Tragedy

Sources discuss role and need for FEMA

Pam McFarland

July 14, 2025

No Comments

Sources say flood water had nowhere to go during heavy precipitation and discuss role and need for FEMA

Louisiana canceled the $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project after permit removal.

Restoration Pivot

Louisiana Pulls Plug on $3B Sediment Diversion Project

Coastal protection agency ends flagship diversion amid legal battles and suspended federal permit, but eyes medium‑scale alternative

Bryan Gottlieb

July 18, 2025

No Comments

State officials cancel Mid‑Barataria Sediment Diversion after federal permit suspension, cost overruns and litigation.

Chevron’s $5 billion Project Labrador in Port Arthur will produce low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia via steam-methane reforming with carbon capture.

Clean Energy

Chevron Plans $5B Blue Hydrogen and Ammonia Project in Texas

Project Labrador developer would have to break ground by 2027 to secure federal tax credits before they expire under new budget law

Bryan Gottlieb

July 14, 2025

No Comments

Energy producer aims to start construction by 2027 to secure U.S. tax credits before they expire under the new federal budget reconciliation law.

a construction worker walks along a section of highway being rebuilt, with some snow on the ground and pine trees in the background

Crews Wrap Up Permanent Teton Pass Road Replacement

Aileen Cho

July 14, 2025

No Comments

The new state highway section uses glass aggregate, with the Wyoming DOT employing a construction manager-general contractor project delivery approach.

Cover page of ACI 318, which reads "Building Code for Structural Concrete—Code Requirements and Commentary"

Standards and Codes

ACI 318-25 Structural Concrete Code Update Adds Sustainability Guide, Performance-based Wind Design

New revision offers key clarifications, new frameworks for sustainable design

Jeff Rubenstone

July 18, 2025

No Comments

The first update to the structural concrete standard since 2019 also builds on and clarifies the previous version's guidance on deep foundations and shear friction.

Material Prices

Trump's Planned 50% Copper Tariff Shakes Electrical Contractors

Richard Korman

July 11, 2025

No Comments

National Electrical Contractors Association said it has been fighting the tariff all year and “has been successful in keeping it off the table until now.” Will the plan be withdrawn before it takes effect?

Water Projects

LA Wastewater Tunnel Collapse Traps 31 Workers, All Rescued Uninjured

“Squeezing ground” may have caused an 18‑ft TBM segment to give way; rigorous refuge‑chamber spacing and on‑call LAFD drills kept all 31 workers safe

Bryan Gottlieb

July 10, 2025

No Comments

A partial collapse in LA’s Clearwater Tunnel trapped 31 workers nearly 450 ft underground; all were rescued safely. Officials cite soft soil and “squeezing ground” as likely contributing factors.

Buildings

Miami Supertall Tower Cleared for Take-Off

Owner's FAA application identified need for three nearly 1,300-ft-tall tower cranes, reportedly the highest approved construction structures in Miami’s history

Jim Parsons

July 16, 2025

No Comments

Three nearly 1,300-ft-tall tower cranes are to be installed this fall along the east, west and south sides of the property.

Healthcare

World-Record ArcelorMittal Steel Column Erected at Detroit Hospital

The W14x1000 column is less expensive than a custom-fabricated column

Annemarie Mannion

July 10, 2025

No Comments

The Luxembourg-based steel producer is currently the only company in the world producing steel columns of this jumbo size and shape.

Transportation

Trump Administration Pulls $4B in California High-Speed Rail Funding, But State Has a New Plan

Tim Newcomb

July 17, 2025

4 Comments

While charging that the federal funding revocation is illegal, California officials are exploring public-private partnerships and allocating additional state funds to keep the project moving.

How Gateway Is Keeping Massive $16B Hudson Tunnel Project on Track

Crews target Q4 completion of the first of 10 projects to build new tunnels connecting New Jersey and New York under the Hudson River

Scott Blair

July 23, 2025

No Comments

When will crews complete the first of 10 projects to build new tunnels connecting New Jersey and New York under the Hudson River?

Rep. Tom Cole, chair of the House appropriations committee, speaks during a hearing

Government

Lawmakers Eye Cuts for Some Programs in Fiscal 2026 Spending Bills

Pam McFarland

James Leggate

July 18, 2025

No Comments

Overall, House Appropriations bills total $1.6 trillion, a $45 billion cut compared to 2025 enacted levels.

Highways

NCDOT Awards $337M Contract to Modernize I‑85 Corridor

Bryan Gottlieb

July 17, 2025

No Comments

A team led by Lane Construction and HDR will widen and modernize 4.1 miles in the Charlotte metro area.

Boston's Allston Interchange is seen from above

Government

MassDOT's $327M Grant Among Rescinded Awards After 'Big Beautiful Bill'

Congress' spending package claws back Neighborhood Access and Equity grants

James Leggate

July 21, 2025

No Comments

An analysis found $2.4 billion may be rescinded from grants awarded under the Neighborhood Access and Equity program.

Rendering of the proposed 1,225-foot mixed-use tower at 77 Beale Street in San Francisco by global developer Hines.

Planning

Developer Hines Proposes 1,225-ft Tower That Would Transform San Francisco Skyline

Former PG&E site targeted for what would be the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi

Bryan Gottlieb

July 14, 2025

No Comments

Hines' proposed 1,225-ft tower in downtown San Francisco would be the tallest tower on the West Coast if built.

chart with green bar graphs showing increases and decreases in construction spending by subsector

ABC: Non-residential Spending Fell 1.1% Year-Over-Year in May

Alisa Zevin

July 16, 2025

No Comments

Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu cites labor shortages, tariffs as continuing industry challenges while construction spending slows amid caution and the end of Biden administration funding.

Metro Flood Diversion authority makes progress

Legal

$57M Settlement Keeps Red River Diversion Project Claims Out of Court

The priority was keeping the project moving along on schedule

Richard Korman

July 8, 2025

No Comments

How a dispute was contained without spilling over into the courts.

Viewpoint

Bid Protests Offer a Way Around PLAs, But Will a Slow, Steady Precedent Win the Day?

Legal challenges to Biden-era project labor agreement mandate that involve bid protests offer relief, but a First Amendment precedent could be a knockout

Jeff Yoders

June 23, 2025

No Comments

While bid protests offer a legal strategy to challenge the Biden-era project-labor agreement mandate, a First Amendment-based case could overturn it, author contends.

GIS

Esri Bringing Gaussian Splats, More AI Into Its ArcGIS Mapping Tools

Mapping giant announces expanded Microsoft partnership at user conference

Jeff Yoders

July 16, 2025

No Comments

Esri announced new AI tools based on its partnership with Microsoft, Gaussian splats in its ArcGIS platform and more extended reality tools at its 45th user conference.

Construction Economics for July 28, 2025

July 23, 2025

No Comments

ENR’s 20-city average cost indexes, wages and materials prices. Historical data and details for ENR’s 20 cities can be found at ENR.com/economics

Live: June 25, 2026 at 2:00 pm EDT Learn how leading contractors are using AI-powered scheduling intelligence to prevent delays and improve project outcomes. Discover how construction teams are gaining better visibility across schedules, improving field coordination, and identifying risks before they impact budgets and timelines.

Our Publications

ENR

July 28, 2025

Cover Story

Power Hungry: AI-Fueled Data Center Boom Sets Energy Delivery’s New Course

Water System Builds Cleaner Future for Buenos Aires River

News

Twenty States Challenge Dismantling of FEMA Resilient Infrastructure Program

US Defense Dept. Announces $25B+ in New IDIQ Contract Awards

Bridge Conference Highlights Digital Delivery, Connecting Communities

Ten Minutes with QXO CEO Brad Jacobs

One-third of Federal Superfund Sites Are at Risk as Sea Level Rise Quickens

Dubai Taps Parsons to Deliver Ambitious Metro Expansion

Granite Construction Wins $111M Utah Interstate Rehab Contract

Insufficient Risk Mapping, Overdevelopment Cited in Texas Flood Tragedy

Louisiana Pulls Plug on $3B Sediment Diversion Project

Chevron Plans $5B Blue Hydrogen and Ammonia Project in Texas

Crews Wrap Up Permanent Teton Pass Road Replacement

ACI 318-25 Structural Concrete Code Update Adds Sustainability Guide, Performance-based Wind Design

Trump's Planned 50% Copper Tariff Shakes Electrical Contractors

LA Wastewater Tunnel Collapse Traps 31 Workers, All Rescued Uninjured

Miami Supertall Tower Cleared for Take-Off

World-Record ArcelorMittal Steel Column Erected at Detroit Hospital

Trump Administration Pulls $4B in California High-Speed Rail Funding, But State Has a New Plan

How Gateway Is Keeping Massive $16B Hudson Tunnel Project on Track

Lawmakers Eye Cuts for Some Programs in Fiscal 2026 Spending Bills

NCDOT Awards $337M Contract to Modernize I‑85 Corridor

MassDOT's $327M Grant Among Rescinded Awards After 'Big Beautiful Bill'

Developer Hines Proposes 1,225-ft Tower That Would Transform San Francisco Skyline

ABC: Non-residential Spending Fell 1.1% Year-Over-Year in May

$57M Settlement Keeps Red River Diversion Project Claims Out of Court

Departments

Bid Protests Offer a Way Around PLAs, But Will a Slow, Steady Precedent Win the Day?

Esri Bringing Gaussian Splats, More AI Into Its ArcGIS Mapping Tools

Construction Economics

Construction Economics for July 28, 2025

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