Category Archives: Construction

Caltrans Surpasses Record $15 Billion in Transportation Construction Projects

The California DOT (Caltrans) recently hit a record milestone: $15 billion in contracts under construction across the state. The state also reached a record 1,060 projects in progress across the state last month. A large percentage of these projects, according got Caltrans, are under $10 million for opportunities for smaller and disadvantaged companies to bid […]

SBA Announces Extension of Moratorium on 8(a) Eligibility Requirement

Yesterday, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced that the moratorium on the 8(a) Business Development Program’s Bona Fide Place of Business (BFPOB) requirement will be extended through Sept. 30, 2025, for small disadvantaged […]

Costs for California’s Delta Conveyance tunnel project hits $20B

As part of a May 16th update on the project that will rebuild the infrastructure that sends water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Northern California to central and southern portions of the state, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) reported that the estimated cost of the conveyance tunnel project is $20.1 billion, up […]

UC Merced, Turner break ground on $300M medical building

University of California Merced officials broke ground Tuesday on its new $300 million, four-story Medical Education Building at its Merced, California campus. Turner Construction Company, headquartered in New York City, announced earlier this year that it had been selected to serve as construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the 203,500-square-foot project. ZGF Architects, based in […]

California to make $3.3 billion available for mental health, substance use treatment centers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Hammered by mounting pressure to address the growing homelessness crisis in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday his administration will make $3.3 billion available ahead of schedule for counties and private developers to start building more behavioral health treatment centers as part of his efforts to fund housing and drug use […]

What DOT’s final DBE rule means for civil contractors

On April 9, the DOT issued a new final rule for its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise workforce participation plan. The program, first signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, sets goals to award at least 10% of DOT-funded projects to companies owned by minorities, women and other socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. The federal program […]

How to win without being the low bidder

This is a good article.  although it has a construction contractor focus, the principles can be applied to any industry. “But all this customer cares about is low price!” We hear this line daily as a defense of longheld beliefs that their darned customers just don’t care about value over price. Here’s a new belief […]

Sacramento Area Sewer District enters $140M contract to build biogas energy plant near Elk Grove

A renewable energy operator will soon begin development and construction on a nearly $140 million facility near Elk Grove that is expected to be complete in 2026. Ameresco, Inc., which describes itself as a cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, announced this week in a news release that it would contract with […]

Caltrans taps Teichert for initial $1M Highway 1 response

California’s highway department awarded an emergency contract to the Sacramento-based contractor after a slide temporarily stranded thousands of people over Easter weekend. The California Department of Transportation has awarded a $1 million emergency contract to Sacramento-based Teichert for initial safety and stabilization work on a washout that shut down a section of iconic Highway 1 […]

Construction Drones for DOTs

State departments of transportation use drones for construction-related tasks and face challenges related to new allowable drone manufacturers. By far the most common construction use is for road construction, particularly road widening, repair, and rerouting, as some states are tackling entirely new roads right now for both budget and capacity reasons. Drone tasks also include […]