Con Dig (02-Sep-26) — A $141.3 million federal water-infrastructure award in Tennessee leads today’s Construction Dig Morning Brief, alongside a $57 million California highway and bridge contract and fresh evidence of a split US construction market.
THE BIG DIG
Garney Federal wins $141m Tennessee water-infrastructure project
Garney Federal has been awarded a $141.3 million firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new river-water intake and pump-house facility in Kingsport, Tennessee.
The full contract value was obligated at award using fiscal 2025 Army ammunition procurement funds. The US Army Corps of Engineers’ Norfolk District is the contracting authority, and construction is expected to be completed by January 29, 2029.
Why it matters: The award puts a sizeable committed water-infrastructure project into the US construction pipeline and gives Garney Federal a major multi-year heavy-civil project in Tennessee.
PROJECTS
Skanska signs $57m San Diego corridor and bridge contract
Skanska has signed a $57 million contract with the City of San Diego for the El Camino Real Half Mile to Via De La Valle project near Del Mar, California.
The project will widen El Camino Real to four lanes and replace the existing 84-year-old San Dieguito River Bridge. The scope also includes drainage and flood-resilience improvements, riverbank stabilization, separated bike lanes, new sidewalks and traffic-signal upgrades.
Construction is scheduled to begin in December 2026 and reach completion in August 2030.
Why it matters: The contract combines roadway expansion, bridge replacement and resilience work on a heavily traveled Southern California corridor, adding another committed project to the region’s infrastructure pipeline.
CONSTRUCTION OUTLOOK
US construction spending falls 0.5% as residential market weakens
US construction spending fell 0.5% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2.158 trillion, according to the US Census Bureau. Spending was 3.8% below July 2025 levels.
The headline decline masked a split within private construction. Residential spending fell 1.3% from June, while private nonresidential construction increased 0.4% to an annualized $755.2 billion. Public construction slipped 0.2%, with highway construction also down 0.2% at an annualized $150.3 billion.
Why it matters: The latest data show continued weakness in the overall construction market, but the rise in private nonresidential spending suggests conditions remain more resilient in parts of the commercial and industrial pipeline.
MATERIALS WATCH
Construction input costs remain sharply higher year on year
Construction input prices were broadly flat in July but remained substantially above year-earlier levels. An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data put overall construction input prices 7.4% higher than a year earlier and nonresidential input prices 7.2% higher.
Among individual materials, softwood lumber and iron and steel recorded notable increases during July, while lower crude-petroleum prices helped restrain the overall monthly increase.
Why it matters: Contractors continue to face elevated materials costs even as headline construction spending softens, keeping pressure on project budgets and margins.
Featured image is illustrative. Photo: Compagnons / Unsplash.
Construction Dig Morning Brief
US construction news, projects, contracts and materials intelligence — dug out daily.
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