Granite Opened a Barge Yard in Memphis. That’s a Materials Strategy.
Granite’s Memphis Stone & Gravel opened a Mississippi River aggregate yard fed by a sister-company quarry, extending a strategy that hedges material inflation.
Data Centers Could Quadruple Their Water Draw by 2028
A Kansas Health Institute report projects U.S. data center water use could quadruple by 2028 and electricity use more than double by 2030.
H-1B Registrations Fell 38.5%, and the Cap Still Filled
USCIS hit the FY2027 H-1B cap on July 17 with no second lottery. Registrations fell 38.5% to 211,600, and advanced-degree holders took 71.5% of selections.
TerraFirma Raised $115 Million to Put Robots on Dirt Work
Austin-based TerraFirma raised $115 million, including a $100 million Series A led by Kleiner Perkins, to scale semi-autonomous earthmoving equipment.
A $343,797 Trench Citation and the Hazard That Never Goes Away
OSHA proposed $343,797 against a utility contractor for excavation hazards, a reminder that trench work carries the agency’s steepest penalty exposure.
Massachusetts Says Pay First, Argue Later, and Means It
The Massachusetts SJC’s Cannistraro decision confirms a payment-first rule under the Prompt Pay Act, while preserving a GC’s right to claw the money back later.
Google Raised Its Capex to $205 Billion and Blamed Capacity
Google lifted 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $205 billion, citing capacity constraints. Most of that number turns into data center construction work.
Hotel Construction Shrank in Q2. Luxury Didn’t Get the Memo.
The U.S. hotel construction pipeline fell nearly 5% year over year in Q2 2026, but luxury and upper upscale segments posted gains, per Lodging Econometrics.
The Fed Held Rates Again, and Three Governors Said No
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged in a 9-3 vote, keeping construction borrowing costs exactly where developers have been complaining about them.
A $1.88 Billion Contract Finally Moves Anderson Dam Off the Shelf
Santa Clara Valley Water District awarded $1.88B to a FlatironDragados-Sukut JV to rebuild Anderson Dam, a reservoir stuck at 3% capacity since 2020.
Chicago’s First Geothermal Apartment Tower Is Betting on a 25-Year Payback
Developers broke ground on Chicago’s first all-electric geothermal high-rise, a 33-story, 383-unit Fulton Market tower cutting energy use about 60%.
131 Degrees on Fresh Concrete, and Still No Federal Heat Standard
A Garland, Texas official measured 131°F on freshly poured concrete as OSHA’s federal heat rule slips to a December 2026 supplemental proposal.
South Texas Builders, Many of Them Republicans, Told Washington to Stop the Raids
The South Texas Builders Association gathered in Pharr to demand an end to ICE worksite raids, saying enforcement is emptying crews and delaying jobs.
One Import Surcharge Expired and a New Tariff Regime Replaced It Overnight
The 10% Section 122 surcharge lapsed July 24 and USTR replaced it with Section 301 forced-labor tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on roughly 60 economies.
Hot-Rolled Coil Hit $1,145 a Ton and Mills Are Still Raising
Nucor lifted its published hot-rolled coil price to $1,145 per short ton with lead times of three to five weeks, as U.S. sheet indices hit multi-year highs.
The Northeast Corridor Keeps Buying Its Way Out of Movable Bridges
Amtrak awarded Skanska $87M to rehabilitate Dock Bridge and convert the 1935 lift span to a fixed crossing, the latest in a movable-bridge retirement wave.
A $1.2 Billion Construction Loan Just Closed on a Manhattan Office Tower
BXP closed a $1.2B construction loan for 343 Madison Avenue at SOFR plus 250, with the 930,000 sf Grand Central tower roughly 50% pre-leased.
Gritt Raised $26 Million for Robots That Bolt Onto the Excavator You Already Own
Gritt exited stealth with a $26M Series A for AI robots that quadruple solar module install rates, with 2.8 GW of installation agreements lined up.