AB 130, SB 131, and SB 79 take effect across 2026, exempting more infill housing from CEQA and overriding local height limits near transit. It’s the most consequential California permit reform in two decades.
Crusoe has topped out the eighth and final building of Phase 1 at the OpenAI Stargate campus in Abilene, Texas, capping a 1.2 GW, 4-million-square-foot data center build that’s now the largest under one fence in the U.S.
A second wave of the NABTU-Microsoft partnership puts free AI literacy credentials inside union JATCs in all 50 states and Canada, plus TradesFutures programs in 34 states.
Limestone calcined clay cement is exiting the demonstration phase. Holcim’s Ecuador plant produces up to 2 million tons a year, and roughly 35 facilities globally now run LC3 or calcined clay.
A November trench collapse on a Yarmouth sewer job killed one worker, and OSHA has now answered with 57 citations and $4.7M in proposed penalties against Revoli Construction.
TyBOT ties 1,100 rebar intersections an hour, Dusty’s FieldPrinter cuts layout time 75%, and the autonomous construction equipment market is on track for $18.16B by year-end.
ABC’s Backlog Indicator rose to 8.8 months in April, the highest reading in 10 months — but the gains are concentrated almost entirely in contractors with data center work.
Interior’s final appeal deadline lapsed in April, letting Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, South Fork Wind and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind finish construction under existing injunctions.
Skanska USA Civil’s $1.06 billion design-build win replaces the 1930-era Draw One bridges across the Charles, expanding North Station from four tracks to six by 2032.
Haslam Sports Group broke ground on the $2.4B HKS-designed enclosed stadium in Brook Park, with AECOM Hunt / Turner as construction manager and a 2029 opening targeted.
ABC pegs 2026 demand at 349,000 net new hires. AGC’s latest survey shows 28% of firms hit by ICE activity and wage hikes running 9–11% in tight trades.
March ABI hit 49.8, the highest reading since Q1 2023. All three sectors crossed above 50 and backlogs climbed to 6.6 months. New design contracts still slipped.
Type 1L PLC now has 44 state DOT approvals and Holcim’s Midlothian, Texas plant runs exclusively on the lower-carbon mix. The 10% emissions cut is now a procurement question.
OSHA renewed its Heat National Emphasis Program for five more years on April 10. The proposed permanent heat standard hasn’t moved since comments closed.
Dodge Momentum Index rose 6.2% in April to 264.2, with commercial planning up 8.1% and nonresidential planning steadying after a three-month slide.
Construction Safety Week 2026 leaned heavily on AI-enabled jobsite monitoring, new cross-industry partnerships, and a renewed focus on the same handful of hazards that still drive the fatality numbers.
The U.S. now has 2,746 mass timber projects in progress or complete. Forecasts project annual starts to grow nearly sevenfold by 2035. The bottleneck has shifted from code and lender comfort to mill capacity and insurance.
After two relatively quiet years, billion-dollar construction deals are back. WSP/TRC, Lowes/Foundation Building Materials, Home Depot/GMS, CRH/Eco Material — and the strategic thesis is unusually concentrated in two themes: data centers and the grid.