Construction Spending Highest In Decade And Not Just In Texas

If you have been to the Austin airport in the two or three years you have seen many changes and upgrades

by, Priscilla Loebenberg

Increases in home construction, nonresidential building and government construction are keeping U.S. builders busy.

Gains in all three categories have reached their highest annual rate in more than a decade, reaching $1.18 trillion.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, construction spending rose 0.9 percent in November after a 0.6 percent increase in October. For November, the 0.8 percent advance in government projects reflected a 3.1 percent rise in spending at the federal level and a 0.6 increase in construction by state and local governments. Economists believe construction will continue to show gains in 2017.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to increase spending on projects to repair and replace the country’s aging infrastructure. Following the election of Trump, financial markets sent stock prices to record highs. Construction projects are underway all across the country.

In Utah, work has begun on a new 4,000-bed, $550 million state prison in Salt Lake City. The cost to build two roads and lines for water, sewer, gas, fiber-optic cables and lighting will cost $90 million. Salt Lake City will cover $43 million and the remaining $47 million will come from the state to pay for the prison’s needed infrastructure.

The prison, located 6 miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport, is slated to open in November 2020. As construction continues at the prison, Salt Lake City’s airport is undergoing renovations expected to cost $2.9 billion.

The first phase of the terminal is scheduled to be completed in 2020. It includes a parking garage, terminal, rental car service facilities and an additional concourse. Bids on future phases are still on hold.

Renovations are also taking place in California at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Efforts are underway to fully modernize LAX by 2024 at a cost of $12 billion.

Some of the upgrades will include moving terminals and building of a Land Access Modernization Plan, which will help ease traffic. Other additions include a people mover, consolidated rental car facility and a concourse located closer to the 405 Freeway for passenger drop-off and pickup.

In Louisiana, site work has already begun on the new four-story building for the Louisiana State Licensing Board (LBC). The 38,000-square-foot building will house LBC and the construction trade association, who will be paying for the property.

The estimated budget for the building’s construction, which will be funded by LBC, is $6.5 million. The building is set to be completed by 2018.

If you have been to the Austin airport in the two or three years you have seen many changes and upgrades. Additionally, with the main entrance and exit that includes 183, you will be seeing even more changes over the next five years. 

This article originally published by Strategic Partnership Inc.