Drivers' phones provide a new source of data for accurate traffic studies

Collecting and analyzing anonymous data about where cell phone users are going and when offers a new horizon for planners, developers, architects and, therefore, contractors.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 3, 2013

Reflecting skyscraper makes sun too much of a good thing in London

A building under construction in London is bringing loud complaints,  and urban builders should take note.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 3, 2013

Explore the Trendline➔

Preconstruction

Careful collaboration before shovels hit dirt is key to a successful project, experts say.

By Construction Dive staff

July's private construction spending hits 4-year high

The pattern of shrinking public construction spending held in July, but private spending—led as always lately by residential—reached levels not seen since 2009.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 3, 2013

GC's dream sub: A former general contractor

Jay Keller owns a concrete business and has a pretty good idea of how to please the general contractors, thanks too his experience on the other end of past deals.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 2, 2013

A new building material made from just cellulose and water?

A company based in the mouth-roiling Australian town of Mullumbimby, New South Wales, says it has devised a new wood substitute.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 2, 2013

Ohio DOT putting $10.5 million into building non-roads

The state of Ohio is dispersing the money to communities around the state for projects such as bicycle and pedestrian routes – though restoration of covered bridges is on the list, too.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 2, 2013

Nashville pouring more money into building riverfront open space

The country music capital is nearing the issuance of a request for proposals as it looks to add green space with a boat landing area and park.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 2, 2013

10-story plunge claims worker at Houston project

Authorities in Houston say a worker died after he fell down an elevator shaft at a high-rise residential building construction on Weslayan Street.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 29, 2013

Brazil micro project to offer tiny apartments, but zero commuting

A Brazilian real estate firm, advised by U.S.-based LifeEdited, plans 84 micro apartments in an 18-story building in downtown Sao Paulo.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 29, 2013

Index of apartment- and condo-builders' confidence rises to record high

The Multifamily Production Index compiled by the National Association of Home Builders to measure the apartment and condo market rose to 60 in the second quarter.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 29, 2013

Kansas State kicks off football season in a revamped stadium

A week before the season opens Friday, construction teams walked away from a finished Bill Snyder Family Stadium that has new premium seating, restrooms and other facilities.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 29, 2013

Bill for tunnel repairs after Calif. tanker crash: $16.5 million

California transportation officials hope to get a fire-damaged tunnel repaired between October and Christmas, but the sting of the $16.5 million repair tab may not fade that soon.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 28, 2013

EPA pushes on toward potentially troublesome ozone standards

Buoyed by a recent court decision on proposed air-quality standards, the federal government is working on how states can implement rules that could seriously affect construction equipment.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 28, 2013

Israeli road-improvement project: Build a bridge, but mind the antiquities

Not only does the state-owned Israeli road company have a tight deadline for improvements to the nation's main highway, but the job includes a bridge that cannot disturb an ancient military campground below.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 28, 2013

Project's challenge is to rip a road through rock in Maui

The island of Maui does not have a lot of room for easy road-building, so a bypass had to go the hard way—literally, through hundreds of cubic yards of very hard basalt.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 27, 2013

Optimism fails to make Kansas City urban retail site a reality

Kansas City, Mo., had high hopes that replacing 60 homes and businesses with a multi-use called Citadel Plaza, but all it has now is vacant lots in a depressed neighborhood.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 27, 2013

Hospital, budget overrun, contractor wants out: It's the 'VA Story'

In a case reminiscent of a Florida dispute, the contractor for a Veterans Affairs hospital being built in Denver says it wants to quit because there won't be enough money to finish the job.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 27, 2013

Ontario engineers: Standards, not client's wishes, should drive inspections

No one took an in-depth look at the damage from ongoing leaks in the roof of a mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario, because the owner could not afford extensive repairs that might have prevented a fatal collapse.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 27, 2013

Global market sometimes a harsh teacher for Chinese contractors

Taking on contracts outside China has put contractors in some difficult places, sometimes because they are the focus of local attacks on their projects and facilities.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 27, 2013

Serious injury to worker in NYC construction accident

A construction worker was seriously hurt when he somehow wound up in a hole at a site in Brooklyn, fire officials said.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 26, 2013

Macrofiber mix-ins offer benefits for concrete slab work

Contractors are finding that macrofibers, mixed at much higher dosage levels than microfibers traditionally get, distribute evenly and improve several characteristics of concrete.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 26, 2013

Around D.C., walkable retail replacing malls as destinations

One of the developers of LEED for Neighborhood Development sees the rise of "town center" districts consigning indoor malls to the dust heap.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 26, 2013

Construction gets separate treatment as silica-dust rules released

OSHA is inviting comments on silica-dust control rules that would address construction as an industry separate from the rest of the regulated community.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 26, 2013

Planned power plant in Maryland would spawn 700-800 construction jobs

There's good news for the commercial construction sector in southern Maryland: A Dallas-based investment company called Panda Power Funds says it is going to build a power plant there.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 26, 2013

Chicago Bears' corporate HQ and practice facility gets new look

When the clock ran out on the 2012-13 NFL season, Mortenson Construction kicked off work on renovations to the Chicago Bears' corporate and practice facilities outside Chicago.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 26, 2013