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An article from Project Wins The design-build project involves essential infrastructure enhancements along a vital section of I-75, a major route for freight and passenger travel through North Central Florida. A rendering of an overpass at NW 49th Street over I-75 in Ocala, Fla. Courtesy of RK&K This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Award: Highway construction Value: $238 million Location: Marion County, Florida Client: Florida DOT Lane Construction is hitting the fast lane in Florida this summer, securing a contract to upgrade a key stretch of Interstate 75 and boost transportation efficiency across North Central Florida, according to a company release. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based civil contractor, a U.S. subsidiary of Italian industrial giant Webuild Group, has landed a $238 million contract for design-build improvements to I-75 in Marion County, a major corridor for freight and passenger traffic. The project includes the addition of auxiliary lanes between interchanges on I-75 from State Road 200 to State Road 326, bridge replacements, milling and resurfacing, installation of noise barriers and modifications to existing interchanges at State Road 40 and State Road 326. The project also encompasses the Southeast 49th Street interchange, a key gateway for the upcoming Buc-ee’s store opening in Ocala, according to local ABC affiliate WCJB 20. Additionally, Lane’s scope includes drainage and stormwater enhancements. These improvements are part of the state’s Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative, which aims to invest in safer and more efficient highways throughout the state. The project is expected to reduce delays in northbound traffic on I-75 by 96% and in southbound traffic by 88%, according to the release. Other benefits will include improved capacity and ride quality; enhanced safety and better routes for hurricane evacuations through upgraded shoulders and medians; and smoother traffic patterns and roadway accessibility. Lane has worked several Florida DOT jobs over the years. Currently, its ongoing projects in Florida include the: I-275/I-4 Downtown Tampa Interchange project.  The Seminole Expressway/SR 417 widening project in Seminole County.  The I-4 at SR 33 Interchange project in Polk County.  The widening of the Turnpike Mainline from the Minneola Interchange to O’Brien Road in Lake County. The I-4 and Sand Lake Roads Interchange Improvements and the I-4/SR 535 Apopka–Vineland Road Interchange project, both in Orange County. Work on the I-75 improvements is slated to begin early next year, and the project is expected to be completed by 2029. Read More

An article from Executive Moves Veronique Bourgier will help create and execute the Providence, Rhode Island-based contractor’s long-term strategy. Published Aug. 14, 2025 The forthcoming IU Health Downtown hospital in Indianapolis, Ind. Gilbane Building Co. and F.A. Wilhelm construction crews celebrated the topping out at the end of May. Courtesy of Gilbane Building Co. This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Providence, Rhode Island-based Gilbane has created a new role focused on long-term growth strategy and tapped a two-decade professional to fill that spot. The firm named Veronique Bourgier as its inaugural chief growth and strategy officer, according to an Aug. 7 news release. Bourgier will work across Gilbane’s subsidiaries, including Gilbane Building Co. and Gilbane Development Co., to identify emerging market opportunities and foster innovation, according to the release. Veronique Bourgier Courtesy of Veronique Bourgier Bourgier brings over 20 years of global experience, including 13 years in the U.S., in strategic planning, business transformation and innovation across the environmental, energy and infrastructure sectors. In her new role, she will be responsible for shaping Gilbane’s enterprise-wide growth initiatives and accelerating organic and inorganic growth, the latter of which can include mergers and acquisitions..  Previously, she was the chief growth officer at Boston-based Veolia North America, an environmental services and resource management firm, according to her LinkedIn. With the appointment, Gilbane is doubling down on its commitment to innovation and long-term planning as an end-to-end solutions provider across the built environment, according to the company. The news comes as Gilbane touts the $7.7 billion in revenue it generated in 2024, along with the 40 public-private partnerships it has delivered or is managing worth a total of $4.4 billion, per the release.  Large projects Gilbane has recently topped out include Indiana University Health’s $4.3 billion downtown Indianapolis hospital alongside hometown builder F.A. Wilhelm and the $2.1 billion Buffalo Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, New York via its joint venture with New York City-based Turner Construction. Read More

An article from Dive Brief Inflated input prices from tariffs and interest rates caused delays and cancellations, according to a survey from Allen Matkins and UCLA. Published Aug. 14, 2025 Aerial view of a tech company under construction on Nov. 1, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. Wirestock via Getty Images This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: More than a third of California developers have delayed or canceled commercial real estate projects due to rising costs and tariff uncertainty, according to a summer 2025 Allen Matkins and UCLA report. Industrial and multifamily projects posted the strongest outlooks, though office and retail face uneven growth and tighter financing conditions, according to the report. The pauses show developers are focusing on projects with the strongest demand as costs and economic pressures reshape the commercial real estate market in California. Dive Insight: Rising construction costs are weighing on California’s commercial real estate market, with office and parts of the retail sector still struggling to gain momentum. Office sentiment remains subdued in much of Southern California. Only 16% of developers in the region plan new projects, according to the report. Meanwhile, in Northern California, about 17% of developers are planning new projects. “After a prolonged period of uncertainty, the office market sentiment is starting to turn a corner, albeit slowly,” said Julie Hoffman, partner at Allen Matkins, a Los Angeles-based law firm. “Broad-based recovery is still a few years out.” Retail growth is uneven as well. The survey forecasts Los Angeles rental rate growth to lag inflation and big box development to fall out of favor. Meanwhile, about 38% of respondents expect a new retail growth cycle within three years, though much of it will be confined to mixed-use and speciality projects rather than broad expansion, according to the report. The opposite, however, is playing out in industrial and multifamily development. Industrial demand is still outpacing supply in both Northern and Southern California, led by ecommerce. Developers are even considering office-to-industrial conversions. Vacancy rates are projected to remain steady or decline, according to the report. Multifamily sentiment is also the most optimistic it has been in years, with 66% of respondents planning new projects, according to the report. That’s the highest share since 2022. “Demand continues to outpace supply across the state, especially for highly amenitized rental product that offers work from home space,” said Heather Riley, partner at Allen Matkins. “Despite rising costs, our clients are actively looking to build at a rate we have not seen in years.” The survey collected responses from 60 firms in Northern California and 80 firms in Southern California. Out of these firms, 46% of respondents identified themselves as value investors, and most of the remaining identified as developers. Read More

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: Continuing on its push to add artificial intelligence throughout its business, London-based builder Balfour Beatty has invested 7.2 million pounds ($9.6 million) into tech giant Microsoft’s AI offering, Microsoft 365 Copilot, according to a July 31 news release. Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant embedded within Microsoft 365 applications will operate securely within Balfour Beatty’s compliant and confidential IT environment, which is distinct from publicly available tools, according to the news release. Alongside the investment, the company plans to develop AI agents to improve its quality, health and safety and assurance processes, with the first trial at an infrastructure project in Scotland, according to the news release. Balfour Beatty announced the AI development push in March 2024, during its full-year earnings call. Dive Insight: Balfour Beatty is running a pilot of the tech at the 185 million pound A9 project in Scotland, a road improvement job where the firm is upgrading a single-lane highway to two lanes, constructing four new bridges and delivering new side roads together with various junction upgrades.  The AI agent, which focuses on inspection and test plans, identifies common issues that include incorrect or outdated templates reaching technical experts. As a result, the agent enhances the consistency, efficiency and quality of ITPs, according to Balfour Beatty. By automating the manual review process, which traditionally takes several hours and is repeated thousands of times across the company, the tool accelerates delivery and allows engineers to focus on high-value tasks such as design assurance and technical problem-solving, which ultimately boosts productivity, per the news release. “This investment isn’t just about embracing technology,” said Jon Ozanne, Balfour Beatty’s chief information officer, in the news release. “It’s about ensuring our business remains at the forefront of competitiveness and cyber security.” Read More

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Chad Prinkey is CEO of Well Built Construction Consulting, a Baltimore-based firm that delivers strategic consulting, facilitation services and peer roundtables for construction executives. Opinions are the author’s own. Buyers of all types have been using the term “apples to apples” for several decades; however, the term is unrealistic for use in selecting contractors due to the inherent differences between products, such as apples, and services, like construction.  And yet, how often are you confronted by buyers who tell you they’re comparing apples to apples between you and your competitors? How often are you using this exact phrase when you’re speaking with your subs and suppliers? Chad Prinkey Permission granted by Well Built Construction Consulting Going around telling your buyers “There’s no such thing as apples to apples” probably won’t work, but you must be prepared to handle such ill-informed statements — while also working to prove that you are an orange. Being better matters As I described above, the low bid attitude creates an adversarial environment for everyone involved. Prime contractors often fight with owners over delay claims and with their subcontractors over change orders.  Subs fight with primes over change orders and with each other over back charges. Owners are under constant fire from all sides and trying to prevent overruns.  Meanwhile, everyone is trying to preserve the little margin they have and capitalize on any opportunity to take advantage of the situation to pick up a little more profit. This current reality has a notable added adverse effect of eroding trust among all parties, making it difficult to convince a jaded client that you are genuinely different.  Construction buyers, especially professional buyers like developers, government organizations, primes and large corporations, can be quite skeptical toward companies like yours. Nevertheless, some buyers have made significant strides in viewing their construction providers as partners, which is beneficial for the industry.  In addition to finding those buyers, you will need to convert some others into buyers with proof that you are amazing. Where to begin Being a better company is the prerequisite for selling value over price. Can you honestly say you’re different and better than your competition today? If not, this is your starting point.  Nobody is perfect, but there are superior service providers in our industry today, and if you want to win more at better margins, you must be one of them. The conundrum for many contractors is that it takes profit to become superior service providers.  Profit is what allows us to invest in better training, tools, personnel and technology. It’s a classic chicken-versus-egg situation. Are superior service providers so because they have more ability to invest (chicken) or did their superior service enable them to make better profits (egg)? Let me settle this age-old debate once and for all: It’s the egg. While it is true that increased profits make it easier to reinvest, at some point, every top company decided to commit to excellence in the first place. So many things that contribute to excellence cost little to nothing to implement.  Can’t afford a training department? Do it yourself until you can afford one. Don’t have leading technology? Take an Excel class and bootstrap until you can buy it. The bottom line is that so many sales problems are solved, or at least made easier to solve, by operational excellence. Being more efficient, safer and more consistent are key sales strategies, and these goals must be accomplished cost effectively if you’re ever going to build profits to reinvest. Break some norms With your operational strength by your side, you can enter selling environments with confidence that the buyer would be making a huge mistake not to hire your firm. That confidence is power. If you were certain your firm was the right pick for the project, how would you act in the following scenarios? Requests for bids from strangers. Requests for preconstruction services without a contract or even verbal commitment. BAFO rounds designed to drive the lowest price on leveled bids. I hope your respective answers would be: Call, introduce yourself, and suggest a meeting to explore your fit for the project. Decline to provide freecon without commitments in advance. Contact the decision maker and ask, “Price aside, who do you want on this project and why?” Then, negotiate the project directly. When you’re demonstrably better, the customer needs you more than you need them. Lean into your operational excellence and win more target work at the margins you deserve. Read More