Construction's 349,000 Worker Deficit: ABC's 2026 Labor Report and Charlotte's $20B Building Boom Collision

Ames-Kraemer JV Just Won the $1.4B Blatnik Bridge — What the Twin-Ports Design-Build Selection Means for Infrastructure Contractors in 2026

The Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation this week selected Ames-Kraemer Joint Venture II as the apparent best-value proposer for the $1.4 billion design-build replacement of the John A. Blatnik Bridge connecting Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. Ames-Kraemer's design-build bid was approximately $930 million, with the total project estimated at $1.4 billion. The contract has not yet been formally awarded — the states have up to 60 days to finalize. Separately, Parsons w

Construction's 349,000 Worker Deficit: ABC's 2026 Labor Report and Charlotte's $20B Building Boom Collision

ABC reports construction must attract 349,000 net new workers in 2026 despite macroeconomic headwinds — the clearest statement yet of the sector's annual labor gap. Spectrum News reports Charlotte's $20 billion building boom is colliding with the construction worker shortage in real time. The Construction Workforce Coalition is expanding recruiting efforts, but the apprentice-to-journeyman pipeline takes years. This episode covers what the 349,000 number means operationally and what retention-fi

The Private Equity Rollup of Construction 2026: Why Construction Dive Says Consolidation Is Raising Project Risk — and What It Means When Your Competitor Gets Acquired

Private equity is rolling up regional contractors fast — Henry Carlson acquired by a national firm, a Birmingham GC buying across two states, and Obayashi acquiring Multiplex globally. Construction Dive warns the rollup increases project risk. What owners should know about valuations, succession, and competing against PE-backed roll-ups.

Jacobs Lands the $1.7B New York Public Health Lab — What the Institutional Build-Out Wave Means for Every Contractor in 2026

Jacobs Lands the $1.7B New York Public Health Lab — What the Institutional Build-Out Wave Means for Every Contractor in 2026 Jacobs $1.7B New York public health lab 2026 · institutional construction megaproject 2026 · life sciences laboratory construction contractor opportunity · public health facility construction 2026

The Champlain Towers Answer 2026: NIST Releases Structural Failure Findings and What Every Contractor Must Know

NIST released its technical findings on the 2021 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida — one of the deadliest structural failures in US history. This episode covers what NIST's findings mean for contractors: the initiating mechanism, how progressive collapse works, and what code and inspection changes are likely to follow. Every firm doing maintenance, renovation, or inspection work on aging concrete structures should know this report.