Infrastructure

One year ago today President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the largest infrastructure investment in a generation. Since then, Construction Dive has been following the money as it trickles out to agencies and states and makes its way to projects. So far, $185 billion has been released, according to the White House. 

Below we’ve rounded up our coverage of IIJA funding and the projects that are benefiting from it. 

Superior Construction has been a family business for almost a century, and its current CEO, Nick Largura, is the fourth generation to carry on that legacy. 

Largura’s great-grandfather founded the company in 1923 in Gary, Indiana, primarily as a masonry business. His father moved the headquarters to Florida in 1992, but after he died unexpectedly in 2010, Nick took the reins at the age of 24. 

Since then, he has been working to leave his own mark on the business and to grow its footprint, especially in the Southeast. Today, the firm focuses on infrastructure, resilience and recovery work — of which there is no shortage in the storm-prone Sunshine State.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based company, which entered ENR’s Top 50 Domestic Heavy Contractors for the first time this year, was recently in the news for rapidly rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane Ian battered the state in September.

Here, Largura talks with Construction Dive about what it took to mobilize workers to the Sanibel Causeway project, how Superior deals with materials shortages and what to expect from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the coming years. 

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

CONSTRUCTION DIVE: How did you mobilize to rebuild the Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane Ian so quickly?

NICK LARGURA: We have a long history of emergency response and it’s something we're really proud of. In Florida, when the hurricane warnings start coming in, I think most people start packing up their house and boarding up their windows. We're very proud that we start loading up the pickup trucks and we start preparing, knowing that there's going to be things that happen and there's going to be accidents that come out of this. 

A big part of Superior is being there to serve the public as needed, and there's no bigger time that we could help than after a natural disaster. Part of being a Superior employee is you're always on the clock whenever something happens.

When Hurricane Ian hit, we did fortunately have a couple of projects that were in the winding down phase, but it's a matter of talking with the state and saying, “What's the higher priority: to finish this road going through a cow pasture? Or would you like us to redeploy those people to help people who are most in need?” 

So we deployed people from all over the state and brought equipment from all over the state, and, yeah, they were just a lot of long hours. 

We started looking into campers and portable bunk trailers and how we could get people to have living quarters down there. There were people in Fort Myers who didn't have food and were struggling, so we weren't going to go there and say, “Hey, we're rebuilding your bridge. Can you feed us?” 

So we set up little camps with our team supervisors. We're cooking food for our people and providing that and then just sending as much resources in regards to additional stuff as we can. Overall, it's just a huge team commitment. 

Have you seen any impact yet from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act? Do you expect to in the future?

You see more in the newspapers about the coming impact than you actually do the current impact, and we're OK with that because there are a significant amount of opportunities out there. To undertake something as big as that, as big as what we did in the 1950s, there has to be a lot of excitement and people who want to get involved and be able to contribute to something that's going to rebuild our country, essentially.

It's an easy thing to sign an infrastructure bill. It's much more difficult to get people up at 6 in the morning with a hammer to go out and build it. We believe it's going to bring a lot of good opportunities for companies, for individuals, for communities. But we're glad that the floodgates haven't opened yet because we still need to really get people more engaged in the industry.

The legislation is more of a place of comfort for us in that traditionally, infrastructure spending kind of runs in the opposite direction of the general economy. The IIJA really provides more of, I don't want to say a safety net, but it provides more foundation or assurance that people can build construction into a career, when we know there's more work coming down the pipeline. 

The Infrastructure Act I think is going to greatly benefit us by bringing it into the spotlight and for people to see that this is a long-term thing, that they can have a good lifelong job.

What are some of your biggest challenges on the jobsite right now?

The supply chain stuff is very challenging. There's never been a time in my career that you were just unable to get materials. The basic fundamentals of capitalism are supply and demand — if demand is incredibly high, then you can price it, you can be able to figure out how to get it there. I've never seen a situation where regardless of the monetary incentive for a product, you just can't get it, it's just not there.

We've really struggled with getting owners to understand that this isn't a matter of us pinching pennies or not putting forth an effort. It took about a year and a half of really preaching that message, and now they are really starting to understand. 

The only way we're working through it is through great communication, and by just saying, “Guys, these are the things we're concerned about. We're hearing shortages are out there, there's a lot of demand, so we're going to go try to find it. But just know we're not crying wolf here.”

What are your plans for the future?

One thing that’s been near and dear to me is starting a women’s group, because of the fact that I have two daughters and a son, and a quote I often heard was, “Oh you have a son, is he going to work in the company with you?” It really bothered me that there was a stigma that it was just a men’s industry. And traditionally it is, but those kinds of things, they have to change toward where the nation is going. It’s a matter of making it a welcoming jobsite and a place where people would want to work.

I want to keep our culture and family atmosphere intact, and I want to make it a place where my children would want to work and hopefully other co-workers in the company, a place where they would be able to say they’re proud their children work for the company as well. 

Nothing crazy, we’re not going to colonize Mars. We’re going to help as many people as we can and serve the community at the same time, and stay tight. That’s a big concern, is losing who you are.

The American Society of Civil Engineers recently released a map of projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. ASCE created the resource in collaboration with economic development nonprofit Accelerator for America to showcase the impact of the five-year, $1.2 trillion federal investment. 

The map is not exhaustive, but the cards contain useful information such as statistics from ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card as well as videos of elected officials around the country discussing the importance of the investment to their constituents. Users can also filter the projects by category of infrastructure, such as bridges, airports, wastewater and transit.

The infrastructure act passed its one-year anniversary on Tuesday. The White House said thus far $185 billion has been released of the total amount, and beyond the IIJA, more infrastructure investment is coming.

Josh Mahan is Director of Government and Industry Relations at Xylem, a Washington, D.C.-based water technology company. Opinions are the author’s own.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has started to provide significant funding for new and rehab infrastructure projects. A provision in the IIJA is the Build America, Buy America Act, which impacts all federally funded infrastructure projects in the United States, not just those that receive IIJA funding.

Furthermore, these requirements apply to an entire infrastructure project, even if the project is funded by both federal and non-federal funds under one or more awards. The Buy America law requires a project’s iron, steel, construction materials and manufactured products be made in the U.S.

The cost of the components of the manufactured product that are mined, produced or manufactured in the U.S. must be greater than 55% of the total cost of all components of the manufactured product. The 55% requirement stands unless another standard for determining the minimum amount of domestic content of the manufactured product has been established under applicable law or regulation. The Biden administration continues to develop guidance on how to implement this provision.

All construction, alteration, maintenance or repair of infrastructure with federal financial assistance is subject to the Buy America requirements, unless an exemption applies. Funding increments or amendments within a current budget year, supplements for new scope of work and renewal of funding awards from federal agencies will likely trigger the application of the Buy America provisions to a project that receives federal funding.

Waiver considerations

If an exemption applies, a waiver is granted to the federal agency that provides funding for the project. Some waivers that are traditionally available under existing Buy America laws are authorized under the latest provision if:

• Applying the Buy America requirement would be inconsistent with the public interest.
• The iron, steel, manufactured products or construction material is not produced in the U.S. in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality.
• Inclusion of the domestic products or construction materials will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25%.

Several federal agencies granted six-month “adjustment period” waivers for the Buy America requirement. For some federal agencies, the six-month period ended in November 2022 or will end in January. For others, an extension or a one-time workaround is possible.

These restrictions have significant implications for infrastructure new build and modernization programs, as many projects depend on components that are only manufactured outside of the United States.

Eligible recipients of federal funding may request Buy America waivers for components or products that are necessary for completion of their projects. Federal agencies are urging eligible funding recipients to focus their waiver requests on time-limited, targeted waivers, to the greatest extent practicable.

Project managers are urged to work closely with federal funding agencies to understand how the Buy America requirements will affect shovel-ready and future projects. This includes:

• Encourage entities that receive federal funding to work with their federal partners to learn if new approvals, certifications or other actions are necessary to meet Buy America requirements.
• Plan for the Buy America requirements in the IIJA to delay and/or increase the cost of projects.
• Identify whether your project’s federal funders require alternatives to foreign manufacturers.
• Consider seeking waivers through federal funding partners for critical products that are manufactured outside of the U.S.

As the initial waiver period comes to a close, understanding the Build America, Buy America Act must be one of your top priorities if the agencies you work with receive federal funds to build or maintain projects.

Dive Brief:

• Kiewit Meridiam Partners will pay a $45,000 fine to the Colorado DOT for flooding on an I-70 jobsite in Denver on Aug. 7 that stranded at least 11 motorists and damaged nearby properties. The firm was tapped to design, build and maintain the 10-mile, $1.2 billion Central 70 project that runs through northeast Denver.
• The contractor found that computer settings that manage the pumps that were supposed to keep the site drained properly were set incorrectly and didn’t turn on automatically amid heavy rainfall, according to its corrective action report released Tuesday. 
• Kiewit says it has corrected the issue. “The main pump system and the backup system have been tested frequently and have effectively managed rainfall since the August event,” Kiewit said in a statement reported by the Denver Post. “We continue to monitor the system to ensure its continued reliability. CDOT has issued a $45,000 penalty which will be deducted from KMP’s substantial completion payment.”

Dive Insight:

The Central 70 project was developed to address safety concerns on the aging but vital road and to meet growing transportation demand in the growing city of Denver. It represents the largest infrastructure project in the state’s history, according to Colorado DOT.

The project entailed reconstructing a 10-mile stretch of I-70 between Brighton Boulevard and I-270 in northeast Denver, removing a 57-year-old viaduct, lowering the highway and installing express lanes, seven miles of sidewalks and a bike route. To cap it off, a 4-acre park was built over the interstate.

Work began in 2018 and the express lanes opened on Aug. 31, marking the last major milestone on the project. Remaining work on the park portion wrapped on Nov. 30, according to a Colorado DOT press release, and the overall project was completed under budget.

The flooding did not impact the project timeline, said Colorado DOT spokesperson Stacia Sellers, and no other action will be taken against the contractors for the incident.

Kiewit did not respond to requests for comment as of publication time.

Dive Brief:

• Small, diverse construction contractors face a “capital gap” that often limits their success, even after they win lucrative government contracts, a Biden administration official said, while outlining potential government-backed loan programs they can pursue to clear these hurdles.
• Veronica Pugin, senior policy advisor to the Small Business Administration’s Office of Capital Access, described how small-, women- and minority-owned contractors are often elated to win a federal construction job, but are then stymied by the underwriting requirements for the capital resources needed to actually do the work.
• “Getting a contract like the ones being discussed today could be completely life changing for that small business, for that family, for that multigenerational access to business expansion, ownership and real estate,” said Pugin, herself the daughter of first generation immigrants. “The unfortunate experience that I see is they get the contract, and they don't get the financial resources to be able to fulfill the contract.”

Dive Insight:

Pugin, whom President Joe Biden appointed to SBA in August 2021, gave her remarks during a Construction Inclusion Week webinar hosted by the General Services Administration looking at different aspects of supplier diversity in the construction industry.

A series of webinars this week have looked at issues from getting executive buy in to creating an inclusive culture on projects for the second annual CIW, the industry’s effort to increase diversity within construction, while reducing bias-motivated events such as the placing of nooses and racist graffiti on jobsites.    

Pugin said one of the biggest head scratchers for small, diverse businesses, once they win a contract, is the underwriting process that lenders use to approve a loan for working capital. That cash is often used to hire workers, rent equipment and fund the company while a project is underway.

“Small business owners sometimes think, ‘Well, I got the federal contract, shouldn’t that be enough for the lender or the bank? For sure, this revenue is going to come in,’” Pugin said.

But what’s often missing for those borrowers is collateral for that type of loan that they could otherwise sell, to pay a lender back if a project goes off the rails.

“The lender can’t just take that contract and sell it to get ‘recovery value,’ as it’s referred to. So that’s the gap. And that’s where we need to be working, either with lenders who can take that contract as security enough, or other programs that reduce the risk to lenders.”

Pugin, who previously held positions at LinkedIn and Deloitte Consulting, highlighted resources that can help contractors in that situation, including the SBA’s 7(a) loan program, which is specifically designed to provide working capital to small businesses. Other programs include the agency’s 504 loans, which provide up to $5 million in long-term, fixed rate financing for major fixed assets.

While the SBA isn’t a direct lender in those programs, it does provide loan guarantees to participating third-party lenders.

Pugin emphasized that because the processes for winning federal work and securing financing to be able to perform it are complex, contractors should start both simultaneously.

“When you're pursuing these contracts and trying to get the award, it is important to also be exploring how you're going to get the capital to fill the award,” Pugin said. “The point of that is to pursue both paths in parallel.”