Ken Roberts was quoted in the January 2022 issue of Modern Contractor Solutions on how the infrastructure bill impacts the construction industry.
According to the article, commercial construction projects will exist in the mix of the monies allotted for the various components of the infrastructure bill. The question to be concerned about is “who’s going to do the work?” According to Roberts, with the infrastructure bill signed into law, it could take 12 to 18 months before actual jobs are created for a workforce that does not currently exist.
Another factor to consider in conjunction with the infrastructure bill and the need for skilled workers and general laborers is the owners of the projects. According to Roberts, there are owners who want projects done “on the cheap” and don’t have the reputation of being the best to work for in the construction industry. These owners are not going to get the good contractors with the good workers. It will become a buyer’s market, where those with the skill to lead and the skill do the work will move to the projects with good owners. This may leave some projects without top-quality crews and GCs to complete the projects that are created from the influx of federal funding to fix America’s infrastructure. Poor-quality work will make way for repeat work, and if workers are not trained properly to build their skill levels, the outcome from repeat work will be the same.