Tag: Alabama construction

Roadbuilding

Fatal crash in Alabama work zone prompts state troopers to caution safety

The death of a teenage girl in a construction zone on an Alabama interstate has caised state troopers to warn of the dangers of not being cautious near road work. According to WIAT, a 15-year-old girl died Dec. 5 and became the second fatality in a construction zone on Interstate 59 in Tuscaloosa County following a crash that killed her […]

December 9, 2015

Business

Company focused on construction staffing and skills training opens in Alabama

A new company focused on training up skilled construction workers opened its doors recently in Alabama. Wright Way held its ribbon cutting ceremony August 21 in Birmingham. The new company’s emphasis is welding training but the center will work to train up and place students in a number of positions in the construction, maintenance and […]

September 9, 2015

Safety

Construction worker killed by fall at Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama

A worker on a crew building a new facility at an Alabama Mercedes-Benz plant fell to his death Wednesday. According to a report from Al.com, 53-year-old Jeffery G. Merchant was working atop the metal roof of a new Hazmat building under construction at the automaker’s plant in Vance, near Birmingham. The worker fell about 25 feet […]

July 24, 2015

Workforce

Alabama’s new building permit fee will fund statewide construction education and training

Though the construction industry’s rebound is in full effect with spending at a nearly 7-year high and jobs at a six-year high, contractors across the country are still struggling to find enough skilled workers. The latest survey on the U.S. industry’s shortage from the Associated General Contractors of America found that 83 percent of construction firms […]

July 7, 2015

Safety

Construction worker survives being pinned against backhoe in Alabama work zone crash, loses leg

While doing utility work along the side of a road in Birmingham, Alabama, over the weekend, a construction worker was hit by an SUV and pinned against a backhoe. According to a report from AL.com, 48-year-old Bobby Joe Smith, known to friends as Rusty, was finishing up his Friday night shift with Benton Construction along Lane […]

March 3, 2015

Safety

Construction worker killed in Alabama work zone crash

A construction worker in southwest Alabama was killed Friday morning in a work zone crash. According to a report from the Associated Press, 25-year-old worker Marshall James Walton was killed when a pickup truck crashed into the trailer he was working on south of Citronelle near Mobile. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency officials did not give […]

February 15, 2015

Business

Wages for construction and other skilled trades are on the rise

Wages for skilled tradesmen in the construction and mining as well as those in logging and manufacturing are on the rise, according to a new report from the Economist. Citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report says that hourly wages have grown at an annual rate of around 2 percent for the last […]

June 4, 2014

Workforce

Go Build Alabama helps boost trade school attendance 30%, redirects ads to teens

Nearly four years into the Go Build Alabama construction career promotion, there’s evidence kids are heeding and acting on its message, says Jason Phelps, executive director of the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute, which heads the program. “Alabama has seen a 30 percent increase between the past two school years in the number of enrollments in […]

June 3, 2014

Safety

Construction worker killed in early morning hit-and-run in Alabama work zone

A construction worker died early Friday morning after a vehicle struck him in a highway work zone in Hoover, Alabama, AL.com reports. The incident occurred on Interstate 459 around 3:40 a.m., the location of an Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) paving project. RELATED: How construction worker can stay safe inside busy construction work zones AL.com reports that […]

May 5, 2014

Business

Alabama backs dual enrollment for high school students to boost skilled workforce

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley recently detailed a plan he hopes will increase the number of skilled workers in the state by allowing high school students to learn a trade before they graduate. During an Alabama Associated General Contractors of America meeting outside Birmingham, Bentley said the state needs more skilled workers, according to a report […]

April 7, 2014

Business

Alabama Rep. Bachus introduces bill to expedite approval of large construction projects

Citing “protracted” construction permitting procedures in need of streamlining, U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., recently detailed the Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act, which he co-sponsors. The bill would seek to eliminate duplicate state and federal reviews on construction projects along with establishing deadlines and a statute of limitations for environmental impact studies. The […]

July 15, 2013