N.C. apartments show demand for smoke-free housing

It doesn't take a government to prove there is a desire to avoid cigarette smoke – the market does that just fine.

By Ron Gallagher • March 9, 2013

How can you change your company's culture?

As baseball teams head into spring training with a renewed sense of hope, leaders can similarly rejuvenate their companies.

By Ron Gallagher • March 8, 2013

Explore the Trendline➔

Data center construction

New projects from customers like Meta, Google and Amazon make this a burgeoning sector for contractors.

By Construction Dive staff

Most Read Construction News of the Week: Sequestration and algae power

Construction news catch you sleeping this week? Take a minute and find out what everyone else was reading.

By Brian Warmoth • March 8, 2013

Can you dig it? Deere backhoe No. 250,000 rolls off assembly line

John Deere gave energy contractor NPL Construction Co. the keys to its 250,000th backhoe loader from the production line at the Dubuque Works.

By Ron Gallagher • March 7, 2013

New tests reveal tires match polymers as asphalt binders

A new analysis for the Rubberized Asphalt Foundation determined that it is possible to do testing that will satisfy public agencies about recycled tires' suitability.

By Ron Gallagher • March 7, 2013

Nonresidential index hits 100 for first time in 34 months

McGraw-Hills Dodge Momentum Index of what's in the works in nonresidential construction reached a mark last month that it has not seen since April 2010.

By Ron Gallagher • March 7, 2013

CH2M Hill agrees to $18.5M settlement amid federal fraud allegations

The company said it should have caught the problem sooner when the government was being charged for more hours than workers put in at the Hanford, Wash., nuclear facility.

By Ron Gallagher • March 7, 2013

Transportation officials fear loss of infrastructure funds in budget deal

A Republican funding proposal floating about in Congress is not going to bring the promised support for transportation infrastructure, state officials warn.

By Ron Gallagher • March 6, 2013

Metal-panel-maker Centria picks new leader

Centria, a major player in architectural metal wall and roof systems, is losing its current president, Mark Sherwin, when he retires at the end of the month.

By Ron Gallagher • March 6, 2013

German building powered by algae farm

A demonstration building in Hamburg has slim glass tanks on its facade that uses algae to create a fuel for a biogas-powered energy generator.

By Ron Gallagher • March 6, 2013

How did a flawed design sink the budget for Wash. pontoon bridge?

Washington State says its engineers did not account for post-tensioning stresses, and cracks that could leak have appeared in concrete pontoons already in the water and others being installed.

By Ron Gallagher • March 6, 2013

IUPUI agrees lease-to-own deal for $22.9M project

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis has selected the developer for a $22.9 million deal in which it will lease an office facility for 20 years, then take it over.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2013

Mich. DOT pours $264M into Detroit road repair

Detroit has been suffering huge disinvestment for years, but the Michigan Department of Transportation says it is going to put $264 million into repairs this fiscal year.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2013

Index: Confidence among commercial contractors good, not great

Consulting company FMI is out with its first quarterly index of confidence among contractors in the commercial sector, saying it is up 2.6 points from the fourth 2012 survey but is right where it was a year ago.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2013

$650M ski resort to encircle waste-to-energy incinerator

A very unusual design for a Copenhagen facility wraps a waste-to-energy plant in a "mountain" on which synthetic, granular snow will provide year-round skiing.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2013

Tracking tools paint 3D picture of a working jobsite

Using RFID and other techniques to push data to computers can result in a 3-D picture of everything going on in a working construction site, advocated say.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2013

States' road, bridge contracts dropped 2.7% over past year

Figures show that the states issued contracts worth $54.3 billion in the last 12 months through January, down about 2.7% from the year-before period, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association says.

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2013

Nonresidential construction already hit slump before sequester

Nonresidential construction slid from December to January, while public sector work dropped over the last year as its contraction continued.

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2013

How many states aren't living up to US energy-code commitments?

One string attached to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act state funds was an agreement to put building energy codes in place – but some states haven't followed through. 

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2013

W. Gene Corley, leader in forensic engineering, succumbs to cancer

The engineer who led FEMA's inquiry into the World Trade Center's collapse on Sept. 11, 2001, W. Gene Corley, is dead at 77.

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2013

Sequester ax slashes federal construction

Several programs including defense construction are taking a hit while others, including highway aid programs, are exempt from what could total up to $4 billion in reductions.

By Ron Gallagher • March 2, 2013

Execs: Tech-savvy consumers drive business, demand value

Shopping-center trade group execs see a world that is moving faster, giving brands less shelf life and being led by consumers who use technology to search for value.

By Ron Gallagher • March 1, 2013

Maturing tech increasingly essential to construction industry

Information technology is evolving and becoming central to the construction industry as companies leverage what they are learning.

By Ron Gallagher • March 1, 2013

As buildings lose 42% of energy, DOE invests $9M in efficiency research

The energy used in buildings has been falling on a per-capita basis since 2007, but the U.S. Department of Energy is funding work to find ways to keep pushing it down.

By Ron Gallagher • March 1, 2013

Most Read Construction News of the Week: Concrete tech and green building

Want to know what the next generation of concrete looks like? Check out our most popular reads of the past seven days.

By Brian Warmoth • Feb. 28, 2013