Highway Construction Continues Apace

What’s happening: Highway construction work continued to increase during the summer construction season – the total value of highway activity was $12.8 billion in August, an increase of 13 percent compared to August 2022. Year to date (see chart), the value of work is $68.8 billion, up 17 percent over 2022. Bridge work also jumped in August and in the first eight months of 2023 (+10 percent in both cases)

Why it matters: Current market activity – or the “Value of Construction Put in Place” – is released by the U.S. Census Bureau and tracks the work completed on a project each month, regardless of the total size of a project or when it was awarded. As projects funded by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are put out to bid and contractors start to work, the value of construction and overall market activity has also increased.

Dig deeper: Detailed U.S. data by mode is available through ARTBA’s Transportation Construction Market Intelligence Service (TCMIS). The TCMIS also includes interactive information on all 50 state transportation budgets.