Utah 21, October 9, 2022

St. George Among Best for Creation of Construction Jobs

While the construction sector has certainly seen its fair share of pandemic-related ups and downs over the last couple of years, one local area continues to see an uptick in construction-related jobs: St. George.

According to a recent study using data from the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the city of St. George ranks second in the entire United States for construction-related jobs created.

Kennewick-Richland, Wash., ranks first in the U.S. metropolitan areas with the most construction jobs while St. George ranks right behind the Pacific Northwest area at number two.

St. George was one of the smallest metros analyzed with a population of 172,100. The area scored high when it came to construction jobs (90 jobs in 1,000 are in construction) and growth in construction establishments (29 percent more in 2020 than in 2017), according to the latest five-year data.

In addition to St. George and Salt Lake City (ranked 13 on the list), two other Utah metros are among the 10 best areas for construction work: Ogden and Provo, both displaying some of the highest construction job concentrations on the list.

“This doesn’t surprise me,” Ben Crabb, who serves as the regional economist for the southwest and central areas of the Utah Department of Workforce Services, said to Stgeorgeutah.com. “We have seen a 5 percent job growth in the St. George area, as well as the population growth and the continual construction needed makes this very viable.”

Crabb maintained a positive outlook when speaking about the economic future of Utah.

According to a recent study using data from the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the city of St. George ranks second in the entire United States for construction-related jobs created.

SPRINGVILLE

LOGAN

UDOT Prefers $550M Little Cottonwood Canyon Alternative

The Utah Department of Transportation identified Gondola B as the single preferred alternative developed as part of the Little Cottonwood Canyon Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to improve transportation in the canyon.

Gondola B, with phased implementation, best meets the project purpose and need and provides the highest travel reliability for the public. The Final EIS, available for review on the project website, is the next phase in the EIS process, which includes a 45-day public review and comment period through October 17.

“We know how important this study is to so many canyon users, as the amount of public participation and comments we’ve received far surpasses any previous environmental study in UDOT’s history, UDOT Project Manager Josh Van Jura said. “With numerous studies over many years as the starting point for addressing the transportation challenges in Little Cottonwood Canyon, we relied on the EIS process of in-depth technical analysis and environmental assessment, along with agency and public input, to identify Gondola B as the preferred alternative in the Final EIS.”

Recognizing that safety, mobility and reliability are issues on S.R. 210 today, and that it may take years to secure federal, state and/or private funding for full implementation of the Gondola B Alternative, UDOT is proposing a phased implementation plan starting with components of the Enhanced Bus Service.

The proposed phasing would include increased and

improved bus service as described in the Enhanced Bus Service Alternative (with no canyon roadway widening), tolling or restrictions on single occupancy vehicles, and the construction of mobility hubs. UDOT would also proceed with widening and other improvements to Wasatch Boulevard, constructing snow sheds and implementing trailhead and roadside parking improvements, as funding allows. These improvements will improve air quality, protect the watershed and increase the quality of life for residents and canyon users by reducing traffic congestion as private vehicles shift to transit.

“Currently, UDOT does not have funding to implement the proposed preferred alternative,” Van Jura said. “We are proposing the phased implementation plan to alleviate mobility, reliability and safety concerns that exist today while addressing the long-term transportation need in the canyon.”

Gondola B would construct a base station with 2,500 parking spaces near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Each gondola cabin would hold up to 35 people and travelers could expect a cabin to arrive every two minutes. The gondola can operate independently of SR 210, avoiding delays related to adverse weather, crashes, slide offs and slow moving traffic. This alternative has the highest visual impacts but low impacts to the watershed, wildlife movement and climbing boulders.

The total capital cost of the Gondola B Alternative is $550 million. This includes the cost of tolling infrastructure, transit

Newest Pedestrian Tunnel Officially Opens

UDOT, in partnership with the city of St. George, opened a new pedestrian tunnel in the city.

The new tunnel improves safety for the many pedestrians and bicyclists of St. George by providing an additional option to cross Bluff Street.

“In St. George, walking and biking are not niche activities or sports,” said St. George City Mayor Michele Randall. “They are integral pieces of our transportation system.”

UDOT held a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony and the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance hosted a community bike ride to officially open the new pedestrian tunnel.

The new tunnel crosses under Bluff Street between Main Street and the southbound ramps at the Bluff Street/I-15 interchange. It connects the east and west sides of the Hilton Drive Trail, and improves connections to the trail network in the region.

“Our mission is to enhance quality of life through transportation by helping people get where they want to go, in the way they want to get there,” said Monte Aldridge, UDOT Region Four director. “This new pedestrian tunnel helps connect the community and boosts the economy by making it easier for people to get around by walking and biking.”

parking, adding snow sheds, addressing trailhead parking and widening Wasatch Boulevard, which are common to all alternatives. Winter operations and maintenance will cost $4 million per year and if summer service was implemented, the annual operations and maintenance would increase by another $3 million. While the initial construction cost is the third highest of the alternatives, the overall 30-year life cycle cost is the lowest.

A 45-day public review and comment period of the Final EIS will be open through October 17. UDOT is accepting comments that relate to the identified preferred alternative, new and updated information from the Draft EIS to the Final EIS, the assessment of the environmental impacts of the preferred primary and sub-alternatives, the proposed phasing plan, and the mitigation of potential impacts. Please submit your comments through the project website, email, written letters, voicemail and text message.

Once the public comment period has ended, UDOT will consider all comments received on the Final EIS when deciding which alternative and sub-alternatives are selected in the Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD, as the next and final step in the EIS process, will identify the final alternative and is anticipated to be issued in the winter of 2022/2023. Implementation of the selected alternative may only occur after the ROD is issued and when federal, state and/or private funding is identified.

For more information, visit https://littlecottonwoodeis.udot.utah.gov/.

The new tunnel crosses under Bluff Street between Main Street and the southbound ramps at the Bluff

Beehive State Boasts Three Top 10 Cities in Job Creation

“Construction has been growing at an 8 percent rate. Very rapid,” he said.

The latest unemployment rates for Utah also were released in late August. The state unemployment rate remained steady at 2 percent, lower than the national rate of 3.5 percent, according to the latest statistics released by the Department of Workforce Services.

A couple of the main findings from the study include:

• Recent evolution of opportunity and demand makes St. George, Utah, and Kennewick, Wash., the most thriving metros for construction jobs;

• St. George, Utah, and Greeley, Colo., metros boast the largest shares of construction occupations out of 1,000: 95 and 90, respectively.

To determine the most dynamic metro areas for construction-related occupations, Point2 analysts ranked U.S. metros based on eight factors that influence the industry and its job evolution: number of jobs, wage, building permit change, construction establishments, location quotient and cost of living, housing units, permits per housing units.

Each factor received weight to reflect its importance in obtaining the final rank

• Construction jobs in 1,000 jobs (20 percent);

• Mean wage for construction occupations (20 percent);

• Change in housing units (10 percent);

• Change in the number of establishments (10 percent);

• Location quotient (10 percent);

St. George was one of the smallest metros analyzed with a population of 172,100. The area scored high when it came to construction jobs (90 jobs in 1,000 are in construction) and growth in construction establishments, according to the latest five-year data.

• Cost of living (10 percent);

• Change in building permits for January-June 2022 vs January-June 2021 (10 percent);

Overall, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports nearly 6 million construction and extraction professionals in the

United States, with an annual salary of around $56,000. And the future looks bright: by 2030, construction jobs are estimated to grow by 6 percent, which translates into approximately 360,000 new positions gained. 

(All photos courtesy of UDOT.)

To

construction-related occupations, analysts

U.S. metros

Clyde Wins 2022

ARTBA National Safety Award: Under Million Personnel Hours

Transportation construction companies from four states were recognized Sept. 26 for their outstanding employee safety programs during the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) Annual Convention, held in Nashville, Tenn.

The annual ARTBA “Contractor Safety Awards” were created to promote worker safety and health as core values of the transportation design and construction industry.

The contractor finalists were competitively selected, based upon their accident and injury rates on work sites as reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); their Experience Modification Rates (EMRs) as determined by their insurance carriers; and their safety programs.

Finalists from three different categories, based on the personnel hours worked in the previous year, were invited to present before

a panel of industry judges.

Winners were selected based on demonstration of key principles of safety excellence including management commitment, employee participation, incident investigation, auditing, planning and risk assessment.

The size categories are companies with 1) less than a million personnel hours worked in the previous year; 2) 1 million to 3 million; 3) over 3 million.

The awards were presented as follows:

• Under a million personnel hours — WW Clyde, Orem, Utah; Texas Sterling Construction Co., Houston, Texas (tie).

• 1 million to 3 million personnel hours — Superior Construction, Portage, Ind.

• Over 3 million personnel hours — Lane Construction Corp., Cheshire, Conn.

For more information, visit www.artba.org.