Engineers see good and bad in Wisconsin market

By Dustin Block

It might not seem obvious, but Howard Isnor sees a common denominator between traffic roundabouts and wastewater-treatment plants.

The connecting point for the two disparate projects is based in eco-friendly solutions, a point Isnor, the assistant marketing manager for Madison-based Strand Associates Inc., views as a growing trend in the building trades in the past year.

“Green design is a super-big buzzword right now,” Isnor said. “It’s driven a lot by the private sector, but there is a major, major public sector.”

Two of Strand Associates’ primary projects in 2006 were to build four roundabouts on County Highway ID in Mt. Horeb and construct a wastewater-treatment plant for the greater Bayfield area. While one project dealt with traffic and the other traffic jams of a different sort, they both are based on flow, said Isnor.

More specifically, Strand — with $46.30 million in 2006 billed projects, including $25.20 million in Wisconsin, earning it a fourth place finish in the A List — approached the projects with a plan to create sustainable, green designs that would best serve the communities, he said. With the Bayfield plant, the firm implemented a number of energy-efficient elements to build an environmentally friendly system.

With the roundabouts, Strand designed the project to keep cars moving. Not only do Wisconsin Department of Transportation statistics show this prevents accidents, it also prevents cars from spewing noxious gases into the atmosphere while they idle at red lights.

Another developing trend, though expensive at the moment, is porous pavement, which lets rain absorb into the ground instead of filtering into storm-water systems, Isnor said. This saves money by lessening pressure on storm-water systems and protects the environment because storm water picks up containments as it flows over roofs, streets and other nonporous surfaces.

Looking a little further out, Isnor said, a critical issue looming across the country is chemicals getting into the environment.

“If certain human pharmaceuticals are getting into the drinking water, that’s a big problem,” Isnor said. “I don’t know what direction we’re going on that.”

While the public sector is hot for green construction, that same sector of construction is cooling off in other areas.

John Boldt, executive vice president of Kenosha-based Clark Dietz Inc., said the shrinking number of state dollars for road projects is a concern.

With big money going to rebuild the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee and Interstate 94 from Milwaukee to the Illinois border, there’s not enough left to fund projects in other parts of the state, Boldt said.

The shortage of funds is paired with an increase in construction costs, attributed to such factors as the high price of petroleum, which is the main ingredient in asphalt. Boldt said those problems will make work in Wisconsin a struggle over the next year.

Clark Dietz, which reported $16.30 million in billings last year, including $2.90 million in Wisconsin, will offset the slow Wisconsin market with projects in Illinois and Indiana. Indiana, Boldt said, is particularly strong because the state sold its tollway, bringing in an influx of cash for road projects.

“The Wisconsin marketplace is probably the weakest for us,” Boldt said. “There’s not enough money to go around for all of the projects.”