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Construction is deemed 'essential’ but is still slowing in D-FW and U.S. Contractors report new projects are being delayed or canceled. Bidding for new projects and starts of construction are being slowed.(Steve Brown)   Construction projects are considered essential business activities in the current coronavirus shutdowns. But even though residential and commercial builders are pushing ahead with jobs already underway, the flow of new building business is slowing. Almost 40% of contractors around the country are reporting that project owners have halted or canceled current construction projects because of the crashing economy. “The abrupt plunge in economic activity is taking...

Belmont construction halted A rendering of the Belmont Park project. COURTESY EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT Construction on the Belmont Park redevelopment project grinded to a halt on March 27, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that all “non-essential” construction would stop to maintain social distancing. The project was expected to be completed in time for the 2021 - 22 hockey season. In his announcement, the governor defined essential construction as projects that are “necessary to protect the health and safety of the occupants, or to continue a project if it would be unsafe to allow it to remain undone.” The term includes...

New York halts ‘non-essential’ construction All non-essential construction in New York State has been ordered stopped by the governor, effective 4 p.m. yesterday. The order was made in furtherance of the state’s efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. The governor last week ordered all non-essential business closed as of 8 p.m. on March 22. Construction was originally exempted from the ban. Emergency construction — a project necessary to protect health and safety of the occupants, or to continue a project if it would be unsafe to allow it to remain undone until...

The impact of technology on construction in 2020 Above: BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING: BIM is an intelligent model-based process that provides insight to help plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure.   In the past decade, we saw technology advancing at breakneck speed, and our dependence on technology in every area of our lives and business is growing rapidly. These trends are only going to carry on into the 2020s and beyond, as technology will continue to make our lives and business safer, more efficient, more convenient and better overall. While many of the biggest industries have embraced technology – and thrived...

California bullet train construction update shows costs could reach $100B   Credit: State of California's Build HSR The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has released its Draft 2020 Business Plan. Although it is making progress and putting Californians to work on the bullet train construction, the costs for the full project have grown at least another $1.3 billion to an average estimate of $80.3 billion and future funding remains uncertain. The low end of the authority's estimate has the Northern California to Southern California route coming in at $63.2 billion, and, at the high end of the CHSRA's range, the project could cost as...