Despite Challenges,

many bright spots shine in North Dakota’s construction industry

By Andrew Weeks

A conversation with Russ Hanson of Associated General Contractors of North Dakota

Russ Hanson says despite the challenges of the construction industry – everything from rising material costs and supply chain delays to workforce shortages – there are many bright spots in the industry.

One of them is the bipartisan five-year infrastructure bill that was enacted earlier this year, which goes a long way to help North Dakota projects. Another bright spot is that construction remains a good career choice with decent pay and benefits.

Hanson is executive vice president of Associated General Contractors of North Dakota, a chapter of the National Associated General Contractors of America in Washington, DC. The AGC chapter helps promote the industry in the Peace Garden State, as it has done since 1951. It also works with architecture and engineering firms.

“In short, we are the state’s largest commercial construction industry association,” he said. It represents the interests of the commercial contracting industry legislatively and regulatorily, keeping them informed of the latest trends, and represents the many different facets of the industry: bridges, commercial construction, excavation, hospital, schools, mall, roads – just about everything but residential.

“We don’t represent home builders,” Hanson said. “Our national motto – and we take it seriously – is skill, integrity and responsibility. We want to bring as much professionalism to the industry and build with skill, integrity and responsibility.”

Hanson said the current times are tough, but the construction industry is up to the challenge.

“It is very resilient,” he said. “There are things that need to be looked at and adjusted, of course, but it has quality people and builds quality projects. The economy will benefit.”

Hanson answered additional questions from Prairie Business about the construction industry, giving his insight and perspective about where it is at today and where it might be going in the future:

Q: In a snapshot, what does the construction industry look like in North Dakota right now?