Unjamming Atlanta’s Outdated I-285/I-20 East Interchange
The I‑285/I‑20 East interchange in DeKalb County, a critical bypass for commercial traffic around Atlanta, has become severely outdated. Its narrow ramps and obsolete geometry can no longer accommodate the region’s booming vehicle volumes, earning it the 14th spot on the American Transportation Research Institute’s 2025 list of top truck bottlenecks. Georgia DOT acknowledges the chronic congestion and is moving toward a comprehensive redesign. The planned overhaul aims to boost capacity, safety, and overall regional mobility.
University of Texas-Austin Advances $316M Engineering Hub
The University of Texas at Austin is close to completing the $316 million Autry C. Stephens Engineering Discovery Building, a 210,000‑sq‑ft hub slated for fall 2026. The facility will house the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and the McKetta...
LNG, Data Centers Anchor Texas & Southeast Region’s 2025 Project Starts
Energy megaprojects dominate Texas and Southeast 2025 construction starts, with LNG export terminals and hyperscale data centers leading the surge. Venture Global's $28 billion Calcasieu Pass LNG Export Terminal tops the list, outpacing the combined value of the prior year’s top...
TxDOT Goes All‑In as Construction Soars
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is overseeing more than $60 billion in active construction projects, the largest portfolio in its history. At any moment, over 11,000 projects are in planning, design, or construction across the state. This surge is funded...
Duke Energy Girds for the Future
Duke Energy, one of two offshore wind lessees for the Carolina Long Bay area, is advancing its all‑of‑the‑above generation strategy. On February 10, the utility unveiled a $103 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026‑2030, an 18 % rise over its previous 2025‑2029 outlook....
KAST CEO Michael Neal Builds Teams and Careers
Michael Neal, CEO of KAST Construction, has transformed the firm from a $50 million revenue operation into a $1 billion enterprise. His leadership emphasizes a healthy culture, employee empowerment, and strong client relationships. Under his tenure, KAST delivered the tallest buildings in...
Building Bigger Means Building Smarter for Austin
Waterline, a 74‑story mixed‑use tower slated for completion later this year, will rise to 1,025 feet, making it the tallest building in Texas. DPR Construction is using the project to showcase advanced smart‑building systems, sustainable materials, and integrated design that address...
In 2026, Orlando Construction Starts Should Keep Climbing
Orlando’s construction market is set to accelerate in 2026, with Dodge Data & Analytics projecting $15.6 billion in new contracts across the metro area. A flagship $400 million redevelopment of Camping World Stadium, driven by Barton Malow Builders, AECOM Hunt and architect...
Texas & Southeast People: April 2026
WSP Global appointed Katus Watson as its U.S. chief operating officer, leveraging his extensive experience at Jacobs and CH2M. In Texas, Manhattan Construction Group promoted Raylena Browning to senior vice president, tasking her with pre‑construction and business development while she...
Cash Remains King
Contractors are turning cash flow into a competitive advantage by extending payment terms, adopting digital payment methods, and integrating payments into accounting systems. Virtual cards, ACH, and automated invoicing shorten Days Sales Outstanding while increasing Days Payable Outstanding. Outsourcing disbursements...
Corps Awards $1.8B in Southern California Dam Safety Contracts to Barnard Construction
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Barnard Construction $1.86 billion for dam‑safety upgrades at Prado and Whittier Narrows in Southern California. The Prado Dam spillway modification costs $1.13 billion and adds a labyrinth‑style design, while the Whittier Narrows project is a $735 million...
VIEWPOINT: A Replicable Retrofit Model for Electrifying Multifamily Buildings
LaBella Associates, in partnership with Chartered Properties and Sunamp, won NYSERDA’s Empire Building Challenge by creating a replicable retrofit that electrifies multifamily apartments using thermal‑battery storage and air‑source heat pumps. The design stores heat during off‑peak hours or via hydronic...
Injunction Stops White House Ballroom at Start of Vertical Construction
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction halting the $400 million White House State Ballroom project, a flagship construction plan of President Donald Trump. The ruling finds the administration likely lacks statutory authority to proceed without explicit congressional approval. The stop...
Judlau Sues Illinois Tollway for $29.4M in Damages
Judlau Contracting has filed a $29.4 million lawsuit against the Illinois Tollway Authority, alleging that the agency’s failure to obtain required easements caused significant delays and cost overruns on the Interstate‑490/Route 390 interchange near O’Hare Airport. The contractor seeks to overturn a...
Judge Orders Chicago Transit Funding Restored as Rail Projects Avoid Demobilization
A federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Transit Administration to resume processing $2.1 billion in grant payments for the Chicago Transit Authority, overturning a freeze imposed after a new disadvantaged business‑enterprise (DBE) rule. Judge Thomas M. Durkin...
Award of Excellence Winner Judaline Cassidy: Empowering Girls to Consider Careers in Construction
Judaline Cassidy, a 25‑year‑old New York City plumber, became the first female plumber hired by Duo Heating and Plumbing after proving her skills on a one‑day trial. Despite initial ridicule from a foreman, she demonstrated competence, earning full‑time employment. ENR recognized...
The Hidden Risks of Promoting Unprepared Leaders in Construction
Construction firms are promoting high‑performing tradespeople into supervisory roles to fill gaps caused by a tightening labor market, yet many lack formal leadership training. This mismatch can create new skill vacancies on the job site, lower overall productivity, and trigger...
ENR's 2026 Texas & Louisiana Owner of the Year: TxDOT
The Engineering News‑Record named the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Owner of the Year for 2026, recognizing its $104.2 billion Unified Transportation Program. The program includes the $1.3 billion Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi, the longest concrete segmental cable‑stayed bridge in North...
ENR West 2026 California Owner of the Year: UC Davis
UC Davis has been named ENR West’s 2026 California Owner of the Year, recognizing its expansive capital program across academic and healthcare facilities. The university’s $7.5 billion Vision 2030 plan will culminate in the 14‑story California Tower, adding 909,000 sq ft and 334 new...
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ENR New York Owner of the Year, Douglaston Development: Home-Grown Developer Reshapes City’s Profile
Douglaston Development, a Manhattan‑based firm founded in 1979, has completed AtlanticBK, a 17‑story, 456‑unit mixed‑use rental tower in Brooklyn. Over the past seven years the developer financed more than $3 billion in housing projects and currently has $2.2 billion in pre‑development work...
MidAtlantic Legacy Award Winner Leo Titus Jr.: Virginia Engineer Shares 9-11 Experience to Inspire
Leo Titus Jr., a civil engineer from Fairfax County, Virginia, entered the smoldering Pentagon as a rookie on the Urban Search and Rescue team after the September 11 attacks. His firsthand experience in stabilizing the disaster zone shaped a parallel career...
ENR MidAtlantic Owner of the Year: Enterprise Community Development: Creating Healthy and Resilient Communities
Enterprise Community Development, the largest nonprofit affordable‑housing provider in the Mid‑Atlantic and sixth‑largest nationally, opened the 66‑unit Highland Terrace Apartments in Richmond. The organization now manages a $1.25 billion portfolio of 13,000 homes serving more than 24,000 residents across Maryland, DC...
New England Legacy Award Winner Robin Greenleaf: Steady Hand During Uncertain Times
Robin Greenleaf, the first woman chair of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), steered the organization through the COVID‑19 pandemic and subsequent social‑political turbulence. She recognized that ambiguous issues split member sentiment, prompting a focus on clear, business‑related guidance....
Defense Suppliers Settle $10.5M False Claims Case Tied to Navy Shipbuilding Supply Chain
The U.S. Justice Department announced a $10.5 million settlement with four defendants—including two fabrication firms and their chief executive—over alleged false claims for welding equipment supplied to the Air Force and Navy. Prosecutors said the overcharges stemmed from weld tables used...
Dubai Airport Drone Strikes Test Redundancy of a Global Aviation Hub
Dubai International Airport, handling nearly 100 million passengers annually, suffered its fourth drone strike in 16 days on March 16, 2026, when a fuel storage tank was hit, forcing a temporary shutdown. The attack triggered fire, smoke, and an immediate suspension of flights,...
Why Some Designers Face Ever-Higher Professional Liability Insurance Costs
A recent Ames & Gough survey shows eight of fifteen designer‑liability insurers raised premiums in 2025, though most hikes were five percent or less. Five insurers kept rates flat and two even lowered them, leaving the overall professional‑liability market for architects...
Hormuz Bypass Infrastructure Was Sized for a Short Disruption. This Is Not That.
The Saudi Petroline and the UAE Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline were constructed as short‑term workarounds for potential closures of the Strait of Hormuz, providing a combined capacity of roughly 4‑5 million barrels per day. The strait itself moves about 20 million barrels daily,...
Infrastructure Investor BlackRock Makes $100M Pitch to Train More Craft Workers
BlackRock, the global infrastructure investor, announced a $100 million, five‑year commitment to train up to 50,000 craft workers under the “Future Builders” initiative. The program is designed to create a pipeline of skilled labor for the data‑center and power infrastructure needed...
Machines for The Moment At CONEXPO
The CONEXPO‑CON/AGG trade show in Las Vegas drew more than 140,000 construction professionals, underscoring strong demand for new equipment despite lingering tariff uncertainties. Caterpillar used the platform to launch its 19‑ton 319 excavator, creating a previously missing size class between...
Procter & Gamble Plans $1B Gillette R&D Headquarters at Boston Waterfront Site
Procter & Gamble announced a near‑$1 billion investment to build a nine‑story, 335,000‑square‑foot Gillette research and development headquarters on Boston’s Fort Point Channel. The new campus will replace the iconic Gillette World Shaving Headquarters sign, which will move to P&G’s Andover,...
Worley, Bloomfire Deploy AI Platform for Industrial Project Clients
Engineering services firm Worley has partnered with knowledge‑sharing platform Bloomfire to launch an AI‑driven solution for its industrial project clients. The platform ingests decades of reports, drawings, and engineer expertise, then surfaces relevant information through a digital control interface. By...
Gateway Hudson Tunnel Work Resumes Even as Funding Uncertainty Mounts
Construction on the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel, the centerpiece of the Gateway Program, has resumed across New Jersey, Manhattan, and the Hudson River after a court-ordered release of federal funds. The work had been halted in late January when the U.S....
Midwest People: March 2026
Midwest construction firms announced several senior leadership changes in March 2026. Kadean Construction promoted Aaron Retherford to president and reorganized its health‑care and commercial units under Travis Mulder, while appointing Jim Driscoll and Joe Kelley to new strategic roles. Burns...
GAO Finds Mounting Costs, Years-Long Delays Across NNSA Nuclear Projects
The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report highlighting that cost growth across the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear‑modernization construction portfolio has more than doubled since 2023. The portfolio, valued at roughly $30 billion, now faces multi‑year schedule delays on several...
New Mexico DOT Named ENR Southwest Owner of the Year
The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) was named ENR Southwest Owner of the Year, recognizing its impact on the regional construction market. NMDOT’s flagship $268 million I‑25 improvement project in Albuquerque employs a design‑build approach with contractor AUI Inc. to accelerate...
Health Care Project in Downtown Indianapolis Takes Cues From Military Book
Indiana University Health’s new downtown Indianapolis hospital, a $2.31 billion, 864‑bed project, is being built using principles from General Stanley McChrystal’s book *Team of Teams*. Vice president Jim Mladucky says traditional hierarchical methods can’t handle the post‑COVID labor shortages, price escalations, and rapid...
New $250M W.Va. Gas Pipeline Set to Begin Construction
West Virginia officials announced a privately funded $250 million Hope Gas natural‑gas pipeline in Mason County. The 30‑mile, 24‑inch line will break ground in April 2026 and finish by year‑end, delivering fuel to the Monarch Compute Campus. The campus aims to...
Littlejohn–GDS Deal Targets Planning Bottleneck Slowing US Grid Projects
Littlejohn & Co. has announced a strategic investment in GDS Associates, a Marietta‑based consulting firm that specializes in interconnection and system‑planning studies. The move targets the growing bottleneck in U.S. grid development, where interconnection queues now exceed 2,000 GW of capacity....
Baltimore Utility Sidelines Underground Transmission Line Project
Baltimore Gas & Electric has temporarily paused its underground transmission line project in downtown Baltimore after cost estimates ballooned from $109 million to over $400 million, with some analysts projecting total expenses above $500 million. The initiative, intended to link an expanded substation...
Rural Texas Utility Plans $29.4M Transmission Upgrade to Support New Groundwater Supply
The Bistone Municipal Water Supply District in Limestone County, Texas, is launching a $45 million capital program that includes a $29.4 million water transmission and storage upgrade. New York‑based engineering firm STV was selected to design the replacement of 7.2 miles of 60‑year‑old pipeline...
States Push Data Center Pauses to Buy Time to Gauge Impacts
Several U.S. states are introducing legislation to pause data‑center expansions that support artificial‑intelligence workloads. The measures aim to give regulators time to assess water and power consumption, grid impacts, and potential electricity cost increases for local communities. These pauses follow...
VIEWPOINT: New York State’s Newly Required Registration of Large Cooling Equipment
New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation has amended Part 494 to require commercial property owners to register and report leakage of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Large equipment (≥1,500 lb) must report annual leakage starting March 2026, medium‑size units (200‑1,499 lb) register by June 2026 with reporting...
Tech Consultant Launches Data-Driven Paving Platform
Pavewise, a new SaaS platform founded by former paving consultant Bryce Wuori, has secured a $2.5 million seed round to deliver data‑driven project monitoring for asphalt contractors. The system lets crews input daily production, weather, and mix data via mobile devices,...
Municipal Water and Sewer Capacity Constrain DHS Detention Buildouts
The Department of Homeland Security’s plan to convert a vacant warehouse in Merrimack, N.H., into an immigration detention center has hit a roadblock due to municipal water and sewer capacity constraints. Local officials argue that the town’s utilities are already...
Court Tests Limits of Executive ‘Pause’ Power Over IIJA Transportation Funds
The U.S. District Court in Seattle on Jan. 23, 2026 vacated the Federal Highway Administration’s February 2025 suspension of the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program. The ruling restores the agency’s authority to obligate funds for state EV‑charging projects, effectively...
Northwest Legacy Award Winner David Baska: How to Stand Firm on Shaky Ground
David Baska, a Northwest Legacy Award recipient, has spent over four decades shaping geotechnical earthquake engineering through research, practice, and mentorship. His career spans seminal work such as co‑authoring the NRCS Seismic Analysis Manual for Dams and guiding the seismic...
Northern California Legacy Award Winner Randy Iwasaki: Always on the Move
Randy Iwasaki, the 2024 ENR West Northern California Legacy Award winner, has spent four decades driving technology adoption in California’s transportation sector. From leading Caltrans’ shift to all‑digital design to creating the 2,100‑acre GoMentum Station for autonomous‑vehicle testing, he has...
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UAE Signs First Contract for $8B High-Speed Rail Project
Etihad Rail Mobility, a joint venture of Etihad Rail and Keolis, awarded the first design‑and‑build contracts for the UAE’s $8 billion, 150‑km high‑speed rail linking Abu Dhabi and Dubai, slated for completion by 2030. The Abu Dhabi section will be built by a...