In today’s construction news, learn about the intense competition amongst extended-stay hotel owners for the business of construction laborers that the extended-stay has been sparked by the Biden administration’s frenzy of infrastructure spending this year. On the other hand, according to the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), the Ronan-North project’s construction has finished for the year. The project starts in Ronan at the intersection of Round Butte Road and US Highway 93, and it goes north for about two miles before coming to an end beyond Spring Creek Road. Finally, On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a plea to halt construction on three segments of the Mountain Valley Pipeline while the landowners’ lawsuit was still pending. Three couples who are opposing the pipeline’s use of eminent domain to acquire their land filed a petition for an emergency injunction last week, but Chief Justice John Roberts refused it in a brief ruling. Roberts did not provide an explanation for his decision. Roberts is the justice assigned to hear emergency appeals in a circuit that includes Virginia.
Extended-stay Sector is Driven by the Surge in US Infrastructure Building
Original Source: US infrastructure building boom revs up extended-stay market
Extended-stay hotels are competing for construction laborers after the Biden administration’s infrastructure spending blitz put more on the road this year.
Navan, a corporate travel management provider, reports construction industry extended-stay lodging reservations up 120% in two years through November. As more workers move to project sites, the industry outspent all other sectors on work travel by 9.2% in the year through August.
“If you look at the infrastructure bill and reshoring of American jobs, there’s a huge amount of new business coming in—50 million to 100 million room nights over the next decade that really are going to feed the extended-stay profile,” Choice Hotels CFO Scott Oaksmith said in a third-quarter earnings call.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which projected $1.2 trillion in transportation and infrastructure expenditure over five years, helped construction employment weather a homebuilding downturn induced by rising mortgage rates. Construction employment has grown 2.2% this year, exceeding the 1.55% increase in overall employment.
A Choice Hotels representative stated revenue per available room increased 73% in the South Atlantic and 400% in the Mountain West from 2019 to June, areas that have seen many IIJA project announcements.
According to Choice Hotels’ chief strategy officer and senior vice president for technology Anna Scozzafava, expanding Choice Hotels’ extended-stay brands like Everhome Suites and MainStay Suites has required tracking large-scale infrastructure project announcements to serve construction workers and related trades.
A Choice Hotels representative stated revenue per available room increased 73% in the South Atlantic and 400% in the Mountain West from 2019 to June, areas that have seen many IIJA project announcements.
According to Choice Hotels’ chief strategy officer and senior vice president for technology Anna Scozzafava, expanding Choice Hotels’ extended-stay brands like Everhome Suites and MainStay Suites has required tracking large-scale infrastructure project announcements to serve construction workers and related trades.
Work on US Highway 93 Ronan-North is Complete for the Season
Original Source: US Highway 93 Ronan-North construction activity ends for season
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) claims Ronan-North construction is finished for the season.
The project runs north for two miles from Ronan’s Round Butte Road and US Highway 93 interchange to Spring Creek Road.
This is the first of two phases on Highway 93 to improve safety and access through Ronan, according to MDT.
“MDT understands that the project has been disruptive, and we thank the community for their patience and support throughout construction,” said MDT Missoula District Administrator Bob Vosen. We are certain that the initiative will benefit the community long-term, as we have seen with past such projects.”
Crews have enlarged the route to four lanes, fixed drainage, and started building a shared-use trail connecting Round Butte Road to route 93.
In preparation for Ronan-Urban, the second phase of the project, a 600-foot two-lane portion on 1st Avenue from Round Butte Road was created.
“We look forward to completing the first phase of this project next spring,” said Riverside Contracting Engineer Russ Gaub.
Paving the Highway 93 shared-use walkway, putting epoxy road markings, and other finishing work will be done next year.
The Highway 93 intersection with Old Highway 93 and 3rd Avenue will have streetlights and a new traffic signal.
Due to unexpected supplier concerns, MDT officials claim the traffic signal installation is delayed. MDT is working hard to install a traffic signal soon.
In early 2024, the Round Butte Road Path – Ronan project will add two sidewalks on the north side of the road.
Ronan-Urban, the project’s second phase, is in design and has no construction date, according to MDT.
US Supreme Court Rejects Plea for Building Delay
Original Source: US Supreme Court denies request to slow construction
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a landowner lawsuit request Tuesday to halt development on three Mountain Valley Pipeline sections.
In a quick judgment, Chief Justice John Roberts dismissed three couples’ emergency injunction request last week to stop the pipeline’s eminent domain to take their land.
The emergency appeals justice for a circuit that includes Virginia, Roberts, did not explain his judgment.
Although it is not unusual and the prospects of securing an injunction were poor, the property owners’ attorney said they were upset there was not more examination of what may be the last legal attempt to block the controversial natural gas pipeline.
“We’re talking about a for-profit land grab here — the forcible seizure of private land for private gain,” stated Roanoke resident Mia Yugo in an email Wednesday.
“They steal property from one party and give it to another to profit. Historically, eminent domain should not be used that way she stated.
Yugo represents landowners who claim Congress wrongly gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates natural gas pipeline construction, the ability to seize their property. Mountain Valley received eminent domain permission from FERC after determining a public need for its gas transit.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is hearing the lawsuit filed by Montgomery County residents Cletus and Beverly Bohon, Roanoke County residents Robert and Aimee Hamm, and Franklin County residents Wendell and Mary Flora.
Although brief, the injunction request was the third Mountain Valley case this year to reach the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court revived the landowners’ claim in April after a U.S. District judge dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction.
In July, the court lifted a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals construction stop. Over the past six years, a three-judge panel of the appeals court has revoked almost a dozen government permits for Mountain Valley, stalling development and raising expenses for the $7.2 billion project.
The Fourth Circuit halted work as it evaluated a constitutional challenge to a summer bill passed by Congress that fast-tracked completion of the 303-mile pipeline that goes from South-west Virginia to Pittsylvania County.
In letting work resume, the Supreme Court ended a dispute in which environmental and community groups opposed to the project contended that lawmakers overstepped their jurisdiction by adopting a legislation barring the Fourth Circuit from hearing legal challenges.
Mountain Valley’s attorneys have asked the D.C. Court of Appeals to reject Yugo’s case, citing the law’s bailout for the project in a wider bill that lifted the county’s debt cap to avoid a government shutdown.
Yugo said the measure violated the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers.
That claim is still pending, but it may not be decided until next year. The pipeline may be finished by then.
“At the end of the day, I think these multi-year odysseys have exposed a terrible injustice for the little guy — for Cletus, Beverly, Wendell, Mary, Aimee, and Matt – who are waiting years for their day in court while the multi-billion dollar corporations bulldoze their land,” said Yugo. “The Constitution is supposed to protect the little guy, not the special interests.”
Summary of today’s construction news
To put it simply, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which aimed to spend $1.2 trillion on transportation and infrastructure over a five-year period, has been partially attributed to assisting construction jobs in surviving a decline in homebuilding brought on by rising interest rates. This year, the growth in construction jobs has exceeded the 1.55% increase in overall employment by 2.2%.
On the other hand, according to MDT authorities, unanticipated supplier problems are the reason behind the traffic signal’s installation delay. In order to construct a traffic signal as quickly as possible, MDT is making every effort. Early in 2024, the Round Butte Road Path – Ronan project will also be finished, and it will include the construction of two new sidewalk sections on the north side of Round Butte Road. According to MDT, the next phase of the project, Ronan-Urban, is presently in the design stage with no set timetable for completion.
Finally, more recently, Mountain Valley’s lawyers asked the D.C. Court of Appeals to reject Yugo’s case, citing the law that contained a bailout for the project in a broader piece of legislation that lifted the county’s debt cap to prevent a government shutdown. In response, Yugo said that the bill went against the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers theory. Even though that suit is still pending, a decision is probably not expected until later in 2019. The pipeline might already be finished by then.
