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® July 13 2025 Vol. XXVI • No. 14
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Austin Convention Center Demolition Begins When the new Austin Convention Center opens in CEG CORRESPONDENT 2029, it will nearly double the site’s rentable square footage, increasing from 365,000 sq. ft. to 620,000 sq. ft. The new center will have six city blocks of below-grade space, including the new exhibit hall, truck loading dock and other support areas. But first, the 365,000 sq. ft. of the current center must be torn down, a process that began in January with enabling work off-site on the utilities. The workers had to tie together two separate pieces of underground electrical “ductbank” so that the electrical feed to the Convention Center could be disconnected without affecting power to other nearby buildings on the same electrical grid. Then, in April, crews began encapsulating the site with fencing followed by selective demolition and the salvaging of some of the existing building’s materials for re-use in the new building. The $1.6 billion project is a 50-50 joint venture between JE Dunn Construction and Turner Construction. While the teams are totally integrated, each company takes the lead on its respective strengths. For example, JE Dunn has more experience with large excavations and concrete structures in downtown Austin, while Turner has more experience with convention centers and with long-span steel structures. By Jay Nachman
Milk River Flows Again in Montana...8
Foamed Glass Aggregate Key in Landslide Fix...12
A’s Break Ground On New Vegas Stadium...18
see AUSTIN page 46
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Demolition work continues on the Austin Convention Center.
Rough, Ready, Resilient
Battle-Tested Construction Industry Well Positioned to Paving Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-39 Finding Solutions Amid Challenging Market Conditions Wheel Loaders Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47-67
Adobe Stock photo
Auction Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69-73 Business Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 See story page 28 74
COVID-19 forced construction contractors to rethink their approach to a multitude of issues, including insurance coverage for projects. Since investing in supply-chain visibility, vendor vetting and risk diversification, today the industry is better positioned for whatever comes next.