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Missouri Transportation Director Announces Resignation

5 months ago
From Missouri Independent:  Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, on Wednesday said he will leave his post after almost nine years on the job. McKenna announced his decision near the end of a meeting of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission in Poplar Bluff. He did not give a date for his […]
Kacey Crawley

Jacobs Sees Double-Digit Growth in Water, Environmental Work

5 months ago
From Construction Dive:  Aging infrastructure and emerging PFAS regulations are driving a surge in water and environmental projects, said Jacobs CEO Bob Pragada during the company’s third quarter earnings call this week. “We achieved double-digit growth in our water and environmental markets,” said Pragada during the earnings call. “Water continues to be a foundational element […]
Kacey Crawley

What’s That Going to Be at 201 St. Louis Street in Edwardsville?

5 months ago
From The Edwardsville Intelligencer:  Pfund Construction‘s project on St. Louis Street, between North Second and Randle streets is moving along nicely. Named The Albert in honor of his son’s middle name and an ancestor, developer Matt Pfund took advantage of Newsong’s willingness to sell sections of their church. The NewSong Church, which has been located […]
Dede Hance

Racked by Extreme Heat, One Worker Died on the Job.

5 months ago
From The Wall Street Journal:  Justin “Cory” Foster, a lineman who often traveled to storm-ravaged communities to help restore electricity, was used to working in searing summer weather as he perched atop utility poles to install wires. But as the heat index climbed to 113 degrees Fahrenheit on a job in Marshall, Texas, last year, […]
Dede Hance

Opinion: Good Codes Will Enable Offsite

5 months ago
From Offsite Builder:  About 12 years ago, a group of offsite luminaries, representing multiple perspectives from manufacturers, contractors, academia, designers and developers, came together to establish a forum for all those wishing to advance the use of offsite construction. Thus, was born the National Institute of Building Science’s (NIBS) Off-Site Construction Council (OSCC). One of […]
Kacey Crawley

Construction Leaders Can Showcase Tech Savvy Without Losing Trade Roots

5 months ago
From Contractor Magazine:  In the construction industry, the challenge isn’t just about tackling today’s projects but also about building an enduring business amid a decades-long labor shortage. The rising costs and uncertain job prospects associated with traditional college paths are making the trades a viable alternative to help fill this labor gap. But to truly […]
Kacey Crawley

Forum Drone: Latest on Foundry’s “Vande East”

5 months ago
This week Construction Forum drone pilot/photographer Louis Kelly of Drone Eagle LLC captures “Vande East,” which is Phase 2 of the City Foundry STL project. The second, $125 million phase will feature a 14-story tower with 272 apartments. Also planned are an 83,000-square-foot office building, 25,000 square feet of retail space and a 481-car parking […]
Tom Finan

Worker Wellness Blog: 2024 State of Mental Health America Report

5 months ago
by Dr. John Gaal Editor’s Note: Each week, Dr. John Gaal, director of worker wellness for the Missouri Works Initiative, a non-profit workforce formed by the Missouri AFL-CIO, collects and comments on news and trends in workforce wellness and life balance. Construction Forum carries the Worker Wellness & Well-Being Blog as a regular feature. The […]
Dede Hance

Major Upgrades For Big Bend At Crossroads

5 months ago
From Webster-Kirkwood Times:  A $2.35 million partnership between Webster Groves and St. Louis County is underway to improve a 0.3-mile stretch of Big Bend Boulevard from the Interstate 44 overpass to the South Elm Avenue intersection in the Crossroads Business District. One key feature of the project is the implementation of a traffic-calming measure known […]
Kacey Crawley

Demolition Clears Way for New Apartment Complex in Historic District

5 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  A former bank building on a prominent corner in historic St. Charles will be demolished Wednesday to make way for a new apartment project. The apartment complex, to be called First Capitol Place, is a project of Denver-based St. Charles Strategic Development. The demolition at the corner of First Capitol […]
Kacey Crawley

MODOT Works to Expand Highways as More Traffic is Seen Everyday

5 months ago
From First Alert 4:  Hundreds of thousands of people use Missouri’s highways every day, which leads to traffic congestion and frustration for many drivers. The Missouri Department of Transportation is working to expand two of the state’s most-used driving corridors. This summer, construction started this summer on an extra lane for I-70, and now MoDOT […]
Kacey Crawley

How to Screw Up a Modular Design

5 months ago
From Offsite Builder:  Dean Dalvit is a Founding Principal of EVstudio, a design firm based in Austin, Texas. Besides being a licensed architect, he’s also an engineer, with his licensure covering structural, civil, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering. His team works on conventional and prefabricated projects, and we talked with him about how the process […]
Kacey Crawley

Missouri Wins $4M Apprenticeship Building America Grant to Stimulate Jobs

5 months ago
From Labor Tribune:  The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development (MDHEWD) has been awarded a $4 million Apprenticeship Building America grant by the U.S. Department of Labor that will help Missourians land high-wage jobs in high-demand industries. MDHEWD, in partnership with Missouri Works Initiative (MWI) and BioSTL, will utilize the grant to launch […]
Kacey Crawley

3 Keys to Making Sure Top Construction Talent Sticks Around

5 months ago
From World of Concrete:  The term “employalty” comes from a book written by Joe Mull called “Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work.” In this professional climate, every contractor has to compete feverishly for talent to make sure they have the right people in the right roles. […]
Kacey Crawley

HUD Grants to Help Renovate Lafayette

5 months ago
From St. Louis American:  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced $1.5 million in grant support for the Lafayette Senior Apartments. HUD has secured $19 million in new grant and loan awards to 32 properties nationally under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP). These grants and loans will support significant […]
Kacey Crawley

Target Store Coming Soon to University City Retail Development

5 months ago
From KSDK:  Another Target store is coming soon to the St. Louis area, and at 148,000 square feet, it will be the largest Target store yet in the region. The retailer purchased a 7.5-acre site at the $211-million Market at Olive development which spans both sides of Olive Boulevard between Interstate 170 and McKnight and […]
Kacey Crawley

Graybar Breaks Quarterly Sales Record

5 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  Graybar, the Clayton-based distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products, said it broke a quarterly net sales record while its net income fell. The company said Thursday that its second-quarter net sales hit $3 billion, a new quarterly record and an increase of 7.6% compared with last year’s quarter. […]
Kacey Crawley

County Officials Seek Public Input for Walking, Biking Master Plan

5 months ago
From Leader Publications:  Those interested in shaping Jefferson County’s future walking and biking projects have until the end of August to add their input. Jefferson County Public Works Director Jason Jonas said the department has been seeking public feedback about the Walk Bike Master Plan since April and already has received some “clear guidance” as […]
Kacey Crawley

He Skipped College to Become a Repairman. Now on His Way to $175K

5 months ago
From The Wall Street Journal:  On a recent morning as the city was just waking up, Louie Leonardo and three co-workers loitered behind a 42-story skyscraper, waiting to get inside the least glamorous part of the building. Hidden away on the 23rd floor, stacked between floors of office cubicles, lies the building’s beating heart: an […]
Kacey Crawley