I-35 / US 30 Flyover Progress

Why do construction projects take so long in general?


This is a pretty loaded question. Is there a certain type of project you're referring to? Every construction project that's not a rinky dink backyard contractor project has what's called a critical path schedule where it's all scheduled out ahead of time. There are a million things that affect the length of a project. For example, concrete takes 28 days to cure. So once you pour footings, you can't just throw steel on it right away.
 
This is a pretty loaded question. Is there a certain type of project you're referring to? Every construction project that's not a rinky dink backyard contractor project has what's called a critical path schedule where it's all scheduled out ahead of time. There are a million things that affect the length of a project. For example, concrete takes 28 days to cure. So once you pour footings, you can't just throw steel on it right away.

Does funding slow them down too? Doesn't the DOT allocate funding for these larger projects on a multi-year basis? So even if it were possible to get more work done in a given year it hasn't been funded.
 
This is a pretty loaded question. Is there a certain type of project you're referring to? Every construction project that's not a rinky dink backyard contractor project has what's called a critical path schedule where it's all scheduled out ahead of time. There are a million things that affect the length of a project. For example, concrete takes 28 days to cure. So once you pour footings, you can't just throw steel on it right away.

Not intended to be loaded. An example might be why they don't work on piers while other guys do that bridge portion on the other side, etc. I don't know anything about construction FYI.
 
Even beyond that, it'll probably be a hefty insurance claim.
Depends who they find at fault. If it was staked wrong maybe the construction company can go after their engineer's E&O. If the construction company just flat out screwed it up insurance won't do anything unless they have a special policy.

And while this is a big **** up, I'd be surprised if Minnowa can't stay afloat.

With regards to project length, depending on scope you can have a lot of schedules to try to blend in a project. Step A has to be done before B. A gets done Tuesday but the company who does B isn't available until next week to do it. Another big delay we occasionally deal with is a huge change order comes in for something like a soil correction. Bank says they won't fund it so the owner has to find the funding. Work stops because the contractor has no mechanism to get paid.
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Reactions: ImJustKCClone
Not intended to be loaded. An example might be why they don't work on piers while other guys do that bridge portion on the other side, etc. I don't know anything about construction FYI.

Depends on how the job was bid and what the schedule is (and was set by the owner). If the owner wants it done fast, it can get done fast, they just have to be willing to pay for it. I-35W bridge in MSP, Biloxi Bay Bridge in MS area all major jobs that were completed quickly, but had a premium paid for them.

A good contractor will try and get work done as fast as they can because it reduces overhead, but on the flip side they have to watch the labor costs. If you start burning OT, you start losing money. Another consideration is having enough crews available. You don't want to hire a crew for two weeks and then fire them as that gives you a bad reputation in the labor market. Nor do you want to build everything ultra fast with your crews and the have nowhere for them to go in 3-4 weeks.
 
There's also site layout concerns, environmental permitting requirements and inspections, lay down space logistics, weather (or lack there of)...

Lots of seemingly little things that have to be accounted for and dealt with. People passing by only see the big things happening.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IcSyU
Does funding slow them down too? Doesn't the DOT allocate funding for these larger projects on a multi-year basis? So even if it were possible to get more work done in a given year it hasn't been funded.
It can. I don't know how the Iowa DOT works but I can tell you MNDOT will tell us to work ahead if we can and they make sure we get paid if we get ahead of schedule. They may have a multi-year project cutting off at October 31 because it's asphalt and you don't know when the plant will close for the year. Last year it was the middle of November so they had us work on 2018 work.

Then it never stopped snowing and we went from 2 weeks ahead of schedule to 2 weeks behind because of April and early May.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Trice
Knowing the people who own this company they won't be going out of business.

On basis the errors were due to inaccurate surveying, and if the surveying was done by a sub-contractor, the surveying company will take the hit, leaving the general contractor to pass along delay fines to and collect from the surveying company.;
 
  • Agree
Reactions: urb1
They are on at least year 3 of this project maybe even year 4. I drive that stretch everyday and swear they are never going to get done. I still to this day don't understand why they didn't finish it last fall.

Talked to the project manager on this one last fall (our office is right up the street). We were told last year that the plan was to grade everything before last winter. They wanted it to sit through the winter to settle then finish up the project this fall. Now I believe the really wet spring set them back a little bit but we were told to expect it to be open by winter of 2018. So I'd say they are on track with this one.
 
I don't even design things that are as important as a bridge and I still get the surveyor to send me the points so I can backcheck them.
 

Latest posts

Help Support Us

Become a patron