In today’s construction news, we will look into the fatal accident that prompted the building of an overpass in the U.S. Route 31 in Marshall County. Meanwhile, the Missouri Department of Transportation is urging drivers to “Work with Us” throughout this record-breaking construction season. Furthermore, the American Builder is looking for anyone who is interested in working in the construction industry. Moreover, SafeGuard has been successful in raising $8 million for its artificial intelligence system, which will automate decision-making in construction zones.
Tragedy prompts Marshall County U.S. 31 overpass
Original Source: Tragedy leads to construction of U.S. 31 overpass in Marshall County
US-31 safety initiative.
Build an overpass to prevent train crossing accidents.
A Marshall County youngster died near the railroad crossing on US-31 more than four years ago.
A project in his honor began Friday.
December 2018 was a terrible disaster for parents.
US-31 safety was introduced with Owen Abbott in mind.
“They’re getting the site ready, there’s going to be lane restrictions, they’ll shove everybody over to one side and they’ll most likely work on one side of the bridge and then when that gets done, they’ll shift us back and then they’ll work on the other side just like is happening south of Tipton right now,” said Senator Blake Doriot (R) District 12 Indiana Senate.
Indiana Senators attended Friday’s groundbreaking.
The Owen overpass was also proposed.
“Senators Bohacek, Mishler, and Donato have asked the Marshall County Commissioners to pass a resolution to name the bridge after Owen. “And we’ll bring that to the summer transportation summer study, and hopefully bring it back to the senate and pass it over to the house,” said Doriot.
Sergeant Ted Bohner recalls Owen’s death.
He wishes that hadn’t happened, but preventing it is a nice way to respect him.
“It’s just one of those points of my career that’s kind of burned into my memory, and it’s going to be there forever, it’s not going to leave, so this is kind of having a tragic situation that’s going to be coming full circle,” said Indiana State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner.
This project will increase US-31 construction for two years.
To run smoothly, Bohner thinks everyone must cooperate.
“It’s important to not just be concentrating on that vehicle right in front of you but driving in a way where you’re not following too closely and you can see ahead so you can anticipate those brake lights a little bit and help warn people behind you,” said Bohner.
The project should finish in summer 2025.
In record-breaking construction season, MoDOT invites drivers to “Work with Us”
Original Source: MoDOT urges drivers to “Work with Us” in record-breaking construction season
As MoDOT prepares for a record year, Missouri drivers are reminded to be patient.
Missouri motorists can expect a lot more work zones and continuing maintenance this year due to a record $1.8 billion in road and bridge repair. MoDOT is hosting National Work Zone Awareness Week April 17-21, encouraging drivers to “Work with Us” by making smart, safe driving choices to safeguard themselves and others on the road, particularly highway employees.
“The decisions you make in work zones could be the difference between life and death,” said MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna. “Anytime you pass highway workers on a Missouri roadway—whether it’s a long-term closure, a moving operation, or shoulder work—buckle up, put your phone down, slow down, and stay alert.”
It’s illegal to speed through these work zones. Drivers should watch for traffic changes, follow signage, and merge before lane closures.
With a record number of construction projects, checking out work zones before you go can make your travel safer. Traveler Information Map at www.traveler.modot.org.
Missouri work zone protection vehicle collisions and fatalities decreased in 2022. In 2022, 36 protection vehicles with truck/trailer-mounted attenuators (TMAs) crashed, down 25 from the previous construction season. Work zone crash deaths dropped to 15 from 17 last year.
“These numbers will hopefully be the start of a positive downward trend,” McKenna added. “Regardless, these crashes and fatalities should not be happening in work zones, and there is much work that needs to be done to improve our worker’s safety and the safety of the traveling public.”
TMA crashes killed two and injured 75 in the past three years. Distracted driving and speeding cause most of these crashes. Distracted driving caused 400 work zone crashes in 2022. 71% of work zone fatalities were unbelted.
Save lives in work zones. Show-Me Zero, Missouri’s strategic highway safety plan, encourages all Missourians to buckle up, phone down, slow down, and drive sober.
American Builder wants young construction employees
Original Source: The American Builder seeks a new generation of construction workers
The epidemic and a scarcity of labor, including trained ones, have hurt the US construction industry for years. After a January dip, 45 states, led by Texas, New York, Florida, Nevada, and Georgia, increased job offers in February, according to the BLS.
March brought additional chill when 9,000 workers left the workforce. Despite falling sector unemployment, it was the first dip since January 2022. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reports a near-record number of vacant industry vacancies. The association claims that the industry cannot replace older, more skilled workers, and that training and support for new hires is too sluggish. The ACG wants immigration liberalization to attract more labor.
New investments for large-project construction worker employment
The sector employed 7,888,000 people in March, down 0.1 percent from February. The second-lowest construction jobless rate in 23 years is 5.6%, down from 6% in March. According to the ACG, some companies are not bidding because they cannot locate the staff to complete the job.
The Biden administration and Congress, which authorized a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, are being pushed to expand spending on construction worker jobs and technical training and enable more skilled workers to enter the nation lawfully.
For years, the Webuild Group has launched youth-focused employee training programs. These programs teach skilled workers for Webuild’s US megaprojects.
“It doesn’t help that federal officials are spending far more to encourage new workers to go to college instead of pursuing rewarding careers in construction,” said ACG CEO Stephen E. Sandherr. “People build infrastructure, the new green economy, and semiconductor plants,” Sandherr said. If government officials want to create these facilities, they should invest in the workers.
Zip Recruiter reported that the number of persons seeking for construction jobs online declined by 40% between 2019 and 2020 and has been flat subsequently due to increased online job offers.
Webuild’s amazing initiatives prove training’s future.
Online, stay-at-home work has affected construction, restaurants, hotels, stores, and airlines. Many American companies, especially small contractors, are struggling due to workers leaving well-paying positions for computer-based work at home. Homeowners had to wait for roof repairs after calamities like hurricane Ian in Florida. Demand was strong, but there were few companies that could handle the task and few laborers.
Construction jobs are traditionally a barometer of the economy. Construction job losses precede recessions. Wall Street analysts say workers, not demand, are lacking.
To be sure, large companies like Webuild and its US unit Lane Construction have leveraged their experience on work sites around the world and their recruitment of young technicians and engineers to create a virtuous productive cycle that allowed them to safely complete iconic projects like the new Long Beach International Gateway bridge in California during the pandemic emergency.
SafeGuard raises $8 million to automate construction zone decision-making with AI
Original Source: SafeGuard raises $8 million for its AI solution to automate decision-making in construction zones
Three construction workers are killed and injured every day in the US.
SafeGuard announced a $8 million Series A fundraising round for its machine learning technology that detects risky tendencies and implements building site preventive measures. Ron Zuckerman and Hillel Kobrinsky led the fundraising, together with real estate investors Ronen Peled, Yehuda Rachamim, Zemach Hammerman, and Wall Street financier Jeffrey Schoenfeld. Otoos, a SafeGuard subsidiary focused on U.S. construction, was founded at the same time as the funding.
“Construction shouldn’t be America’s most dangerous job. “Unfortunately, our field is focused on digitizing compliance rather than innovating decision-support tools, but compliance does not assure safety,” stated SafeGuard CEO and creator Izhak Paz. “Only an end-to-end solution that removes the human factor can prevent accidents and construction site shutdowns,” Paz said.
Construction workers in the U.S. die every day and are injured every three minutes. Despite new apps or technologies, workplace injuries continue to climb because 90% of errors are human-caused. SafeGuard’s real-time automated decision-making platform prevents accidents. Its technology gathers data from cameras, sensors, drones, and open data, then algorithms identify on-site human error patterns and utilize AI to prevent mishaps. SafeGuard can shut out or notify a construction worker who may make a catastrophic mistake.
“Accidents cause huge monetary and resource losses at a corporate level, from project delays to long-term wage loss, legal costs, admin expenses, and equipment damage,” said lead investor Hillel Kobrinsky. “SafeGuard’s automated decision-support platform gives project managers peace of mind by providing them with a powerful tool to protect on-site workers from human errors, thereby preventing accidents in real-time,” Kobrinsky said.
Since 2016, SafeGuard has saved 2,745 lives. It reduces accidents in construction, ports, and more.
Summary of today’s construction news
Overall,we discussed the US-31 Safety Effort. Construct a bridge to avoid dangerous train crossings. More over four years ago, a child from Marshall County, Indiana, was killed at the train crossing on US-31. On Friday, work began on a tribute to him.
Meanwhile, on the 17th through the 21st of April, MoDOT will hold National Work Zone Awareness Week, urging drivers to “Work with Us” by making safe driving decisions to protect themselves, other motorists, and highway workers.
On the other hand, after a decrease in job openings in January, 45 states had an increase in February, led by Texas, New York, Florida, Nevada, and Georgia.
Over and above that, SafeGuard, a company that uses machine learning to identify potentially dangerous behaviors on construction sites, has just announced a $8 million Series A funding round. Together with real estate developers, Ron Zuckerman and Hillel Kobrinsky spearheaded the financing effort. Along with the financing came the launch of Otoos, a SafeGuard subsidiary that specializes in building in the United States. According to SafeGuard’s CEO and inventor, “Construction shouldn’t be America’s most dangerous job.”
