As Indiana gets ready to spend billions to fix its roads, and bridges, construction companies are busy getting ready, WANE-TV has reported.
The $4.7 billion “Next Level Indiana” initiative will add 122 miles of lanes, fix nearly 1,300 bridges, and resurface almost 10,000 miles of roads.
Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) says it has the staff in place to handle the workload, but construction companies are trying to get there. “We need laborers, we need teamsters, those groups of people. On top of that, we’ll need construction managers, project managers,” James H. Drew Corporation COO Gene Lindley said.
The company is expecting a lot more work with the governor’s initiative. “Our challenge is going to be looking for individuals to come in and fill those voids that we currently have as well as we will have in the future,” Lindley said in the televised report.
Because much of the spending will take place in the final part of the initiative, there will be time for employers to hire and train workers for the opportunities.
“We are anticipating by the time this entire project ramps, over the next three to five years, we’re looking at thousands of new jobs for Hoosiers across the state,” said Indiana Constructors, Inc. president Richard Hedgecock.
“There are highway contractors located all across the state. From Gary, to Sellersburg, from Evansville to Fort Wayne,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for construction.”
