Construction Dive’s Friday Punch List is a series dedicated to sharing major building headlines that contractors may have missed from the week.
It was another busy week for construction news.
Associated Builders and Contractors reported that construction costs in July were 7.4% higher than the same time in 2025, and a joint venture of AECOM Hunt, Turner Construction and Horus Construction Services was named the top option to build the Tampa Bay Rays $2.3 billion MLB ballpark.
Read on for more news from the week builders should know.
Skanska wins $1.2B contract to build 4 data centers
Stockholm-based builder Skanska has signed a $1.2 billion contract with an existing, undisclosed client to build four new data centers in the Southeast U.S., according to a Thursday announcement.
The four new data centers will total about 808,000 square feet, according to the release. Project scope includes construction of the shell and interior fit-out for technical spaces and support areas.
Construction will begin in the third quarter of 2026 with completion expected in Q3 2028.
—Zachary Phillips
Amtrak completes first phase of $1.6B tunnel project
Amtrak has officially reopened East River Line 2, the first phase of the $1.6 billion ERT Rehabilitation project, according to a Monday news release.
Crews had pushed back the reopening milestone by about a month after workers discovered voids during catenary installation. That required engineering changes before crews could ultimately mount support hardware.
Since construction kicked off last summer, teams completely rebuilt the 116-year-old tunnel’s interior systems, such as track, power, communications, drainage and structural elements, according to Amtrak. In total, workers removed or replaced more than 24,000 feet of rail, 8,000 tons of ballast, 8,000 wooden rail ties and 20,000 cubic yards of bench wall concrete, according to the release.
The second and final phase of the project, a critical link in the Northeast corridor, will begin this fall and remains on track to finish by the end of 2027, per Amtrak.
—Sebastian Obando
Auburn, Air Force partner on mass timber barracks
Auburn University has partnered with the U.S. Air Force to develop redeployable mass timber military housing, according to a Monday announcement from the Alabama school. The partnership seeks to create temporary barracks-style structures with the goal of faster assembly and better cold-weather performance.
These structures are traditionally built with light wood-frame construction, similar to conventional residential builds, per the release. That approach, however, can require several days of onsite assembly.
“With prefabrication, we are shifting some of that work away from the site,” said David Roueche, associate professor in the school’s department of civil and environmental engineering, in the announcement. “When shelter is critically needed, the actual assembly time should be much less.”
Auburn Engineering is leading the project, and Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle, an applied science and technology organization, is partnering with the Air Force to build prototypes.
—Matthew Thibault
2 builders, 1 supplier make executive moves
This week saw multiple changes in leadership for companies across the built environment.
84 Lumber, the nation’s largest privately-held building materials supplier, named Dustin Hauenstein as its new CFO on Monday. With more than 25 years of finance experience, Hauenstein joins the company after most recently serving as senior vice president at Designer Brands, where he was the CFO for DSW and the Brand Portfolio.
On the same day, Rosemont, Illinois-based McShane Construction named a new vice president of the firm’s Southeast Regional Office in Auburn, Alabama. Jack Sommer, in his role, will lead commercial pursuits in the region, per a release shared with Construction Dive.
Sommer has over 20 years of experience across operations, project management and preconstruction, per McShane. He has experience in sectors such as hospitality, mixed-use, healthcare, education and industrial. He most recently served as project director at Auburn-based Bailey-Harris Construction.
Elsewhere in the Southeast, Manhattan Construction appointed Craig Bryant as senior vice president of Florida, the firm announced Tuesday. Bryant will oversee the company’s Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida operations.
A 28-year industry veteran who has helped deliver over $2.2 billion in construction projects, Bryant first joined Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Manhattan in 2022 as the vice president of the company’s Naples/Fort Myers, Florida, office.
—Zachary Phillips
