Workforce Issues, IIJA Implementation, Inflation Primary Topics at ARTBA Northeastern & Southern Regional Meeting

What happened: Approximately 80 transportation professionals gathered Nov. 1-3 at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, for ARTBA’s annual Northeastern & Southern Regional Meeting.

Event highlights: Attendees heard updates on year-one of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), how technology can augment workforces, and whether academia is bridging the gap with industry in teaching construction technology skills. Among the highlights:

• ARTBA Senior Economist Josh Hurwitz, Ph.D., noted the IIJA’s 38 percent increase in highway and bridge funding in FY 2022 is an important catalyst for the nearly 20 percent rise in state and local contract awards through September. ARTBA estimates up to half of this growth is real, despite heavy inflation for key construction inputs. Since September 2020, diesel fuel prices spiked by an average annual rate of more than 77 percent; asphalt more than 48 percent, iron and steel 42 percent, and fabricated steel plates 26 percent. Meanwhile, Hurwitz responded to reports from contractors and engineers in attendance regarding the difficulty finding workers. The prime-age labor force participation rate for men between 25 to 54 dropped from almost 97 percent in 1948 to 89 percent in 2022; while the same statistic for women jumped from 35 percent to 76 percent. Women can help fill the employment gap in transportation construction, but ‘the problem of men leaving the workforce is also a huge issue we have to figure out,’ Hurwitz said.
• Dr. Shawn Wilson, Ph.D., Louisiana’s transportation secretary, said that the state will use IIJA funds for a host of repairs, including more than $1 billion in bridge formula funds over five years to fix more than 1,600 dilapidated bridges. Wilson said the competition for talent to complete the work is intense, noting that the private sector is hiring away many state transportation department employees. ‘That’s the reality of where we stand as a workforce,’ he said.
• The retirement of aging baby-boomer construction workers only adds to the workforce challenge, prompting HNTB’s Senior Vice President & National Bridge Engineer Ted Zoli to suggest: ‘A guest worker program is something we should be advocating for in the short-term.’

Pictured above: (Left) ARTBA Chair Paula Hammond, senior vice president, WSP USA, addressed Northeastern & Southern Regional Meeting attendees during the Nov. 2 opening session. (Right) ARTBA Senior Economist Josh Hurwitz provided an update on year-one of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to the group.