ConstructionForum 🕸

This week Construction Forum drone photographer Louis Kelly captures the beginning  of construction the new Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) recently blocked off the ramp from Riverview Drive in St. Louis to eastbound Interstate 270 to build a new interchange. The ramp will be closed for a year, […]

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  A St. Louis County workforce development center here was created to help county residents find jobs. It also employs the children of its chief executive. Carolyn Seward, head of the Family and Workforce Centers of America, has for years contracted with St. Louis County to run the county’s MET Center, a […]

From Construction Dive:  High school trades teachers can win big. The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence is open for 2023, offering $1.5 million in awards for up to 20 winners across the country. The program is run by Harbor Freight Tools, an equipment retailer based in Calabasas, California. This will be […]

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  Piasa Park in Alton, which includes a giant Piasa Bird mural painted on a limestone cliff, will get a makeover and new visitor center in the hopes to attract more visitors to the region. The Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau plans to put the project out for bids this summer […]

From St. Louis Business Journal:  A developer is looking to build high-end townhouse apartments in Fenton. The 19 two-story leased townhouses would be built on a 1.3-acre property at 1719 and 1725 Smizer Station Road in unincorporated Fenton, in a plan from Fenton real estate broker Azur Meskovic. The property has not previously been developed. The […]

From Construction Dive: Local and state government contracts for highway, road and bridge projects dramatically increased between 2021 and 2022, a sign that bipartisan infrastructure funds are starting to have an impact, but contracts for rail and transit projects slowed significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis conducted by the American […]

From Scripps News:  Ironworkers are in high demand across the country. “Ironworkers are very important to the construction industry,” said Dave Beard, general vice president of Ironworkers International. “We’re one of the first crafts to arrive on the job, and we’re one of the last ones to leave.” There are around 150 apprenticeship programs across […]

From St. Louis Business Journal: SECOND PLACE — BIG (250 to 999 employees) Company: McCarthy Holdings Inc. What it does: McCarthy, which includes McCarthy Building Cos. and Castle Contracting, is the region’s largest general contractor No. of employees: 549 Annual revenue: $5.4 billion Top local executive: Scott Wittkop, president and COO; John Buescher, president of central region Are you hiring?: Yes. In […]

From Labor Tribune: The Iron Workers Local 396 training school recently welcomed its youngest visitor yet – an eight-year-old Moscow Mills girl who’s been fascinated with welding since she was only five. Her father, Jeff Deane, welds on the side. His daughter Addi watched him weld for a year, and finally, when she was six, he […]

From Construction Dive: What is the next big thing in construction? What do precon teams need to be preparing for? Although inflation, material costs, supplies and the labor shortages are still predicted to be a big problem for contractors in 2023, there is light at the end of the tunnel. According to all the industry reports released […]

From St. Louis Business Journal: Excellent early childhood education is critical to addressing the workforce challenges that employers face today. Statistics show a clear picture of an impending economic crisis. In the state of Missouri, the costs are high. The state loses $1.35 billion in economic growth and $280 million in tax revenue due to child […]

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  General Dynamics Information Technology has won a $88.2 million contract with NGA, where some of the work will be done in the St. Louis area. Virginia-based General Dynamics will provide software development services to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency over the course of the five-year contract, according to a release. General Dynamics […]

From The Edwardsville Intelligencer: The first steps are being taken in the creation of a shared-use path along Illinois Route 159 south of downtown. When it’s finished this summer, the 10-foot-wide, off-road path will connect Magnolia Street to Madison County Transit’s Goshen Trail. The city has brought on Stutz Excavating, which has begun clearing the area […]

Oculus Inc., an award-winning, WBE-certified architecture and interior design firm, announces the promotion of Jaime Merrill, NCDIQ, IIDA, to Hospitality Design Leader. In her new role, Merrill will help enhance the firm’s hospitality roster in Portland and the West Coast, while expanding hospitality design services to other markets Oculus serves. “Jaime has been instrumental in […]

Western Specialty Contractors would like to congratulate Peoria, IL Assistant Branch Manager Jared Osterman and St. Louis Concrete Branch Sales/Project Manager George Justice on graduating from the 2023 Construction Leadership Institute (CLI) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Four Western employees have graduated from the program over the past two years. Left to Right: Western Region […]

Design-build contractor Keystone Construction Company has kicked off construction on a new $6 million mixed-use building in Chesterfield Valley’s Spirit Valley Business Park. The building will feature 40,000 square feet of flexible space, which can be divided between one to four tenants, and accommodates a wide range of uses from warehouse, office, manufacturing, showroom and […]

From St. Louis Business Journal:  Three architects and an interior designer at the St. Louis-based firm Bond Architects have been elevated to principals of the company, after its founder stepped down from that role last year. As principals, Rebecca Kleba, Michelle Wells, Erik Wilson and Andrea Giovando now have ownership in the Clayton-based company, said […]

The Smith NMTC Associates team is thrilled to announce the closing of a $7M SLDC New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) supported loan to Tabernacle Community Development Corporation (CDC), a Missouri nonprofit organization, in partnership with St. Louis Development Corporation, through its Housing Access and Neighborhood Stabilization Revolving Loan Fund, and an investment from U.S. Bancorp […]

Woodward Lofts, a multifamily housing project from St. Louis-based architecture, planning, urban design and interiors firm Trivers was recently named a winner of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2023 Housing Awards. Now in its 23rd year, the 2023 Housing Awards recognize 10 exceptional residential designs throughout the United States. This year’s recipients were selected […]

S. M. Wilson & Co., a St. Louis-based construction manager and contracting firm, has promoted Brandon Groom to Project Manager. Groom, who has seven years of construction industry experience, joined S. M. Wilson as an Assistant Project Manager in 2022. In his new role as Project Manager, Groom is responsible for subcontractor procurement and management, […]