The Construction Economist — October 4, 2026

Transit and bridge funds lapse as IIJA extends · Construction job openings slip · Q2 GDP at 2.2% · DBE final rule · $15B Iowa steel mill

Top News

Billions for transit, safety, and repair expire while highway funding continues Transportation for America · ~3 min read

Advance appropriations that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provided for transit, passenger rail, bridges, safety and other programs expired Sept. 30, even though Congress extended the law's surface transportation authorities through Dec. 11 in H.R. 6500, signed Sept. 2. Highway formula funding continues through the extension. The National League of Cities put the lapse at $36.8 billion in automatic cuts, about 30% of IIJA transportation programs; the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) said total federal transit investment falls 20% below fiscal 2026 levels and passenger rail investment falls 81%, with no guaranteed rail funding. Bridge programs account for $5.5 billion a year of the affected formula money, according to NLC.

What it means: The extension kept the formula highway money states use to let work, so the lapse lands on a narrower slice of the market: transit, rail, bridge and safety contractors, and the competitive grants (BUILD, Safe Streets and Roads for All) that were funded from the same advance-appropriations pot. For them the planning horizon is now Dec. 11 and the lame-duck session, not the five-year IIJA runway; Construction Dive reported that state DOTs already trimmed bid openings this summer and that projects may be phased into smaller pieces, which raises unit costs. Until Congress restores the money, assume grant-funded transit and bridge work in your pipeline is unfunded rather than delayed, and ask owners which obligations were already made.

Construction job openings decline in August; data center work up 46% year over year NAHB Now · ~2 min read

Construction job openings declined in August, according to NAHB. Data center construction, up 46% year over year, is creating demand for construction workers even as hiring softens elsewhere.

Real GDP rises 2.2% in the second quarter in third estimate Bureau of Economic Analysis · ~3 min read

Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.2% in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis's third estimate, after a revised 2.5% in the first quarter. BEA cited consumer spending, investment, and exports as contributors, partly offset by higher imports.

Policy, Codes & Regulation

DBE final rule includes changes sought by AGC AGC News · ~2 min read

The Trump administration finalized changes to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) said the rule addresses several implementation concerns it raised but does not adopt other industry recommendations.

GAO finds lengthy review process for hazard mitigation funding ENR · ~3 min read

A Government Accountability Office report found that many communities wait months, and in some cases years, to learn whether they will receive funding from FEMA's hazard mitigation program for critical projects.

Materials & Supply Chain

AISI statement on $15 billion White House-announced steel investment in Iowa American Iron and Steel Institute · ~2 min read

The White House announced a $15 billion investment in a new steelmaking facility in Iowa on Sept. 28. AISI president and CEO Kevin Dempsey said the Section 232 steel tariffs "continue to energize the American iron and steel industry."

Project Finance & Economics

FERC chair criticizes PJM as grid operator delays backstop power procurement Utility Dive · ~4 min read

PJM had planned to accept offers for backstop power supplies from Sept. 30 through Oct. 21 after falling short of its reserve margin targets amid aggressive data center load growth. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission only partially approved the plan, citing cost allocation concerns, and PJM delayed the procurement.

Megaprojects

Who scored stadium and arena contracts this summer? Construction Dive · ~4 min read

Franchises in MLB, the NBA, and the NFL awarded megaproject contracts this summer to build new arenas and stadiums around the U.S. Construction Dive lists which contractors won them.

The Construction Economist — What's Moving Construction? The Economic Look-Ahead.