GRANITE_LJ 9/17/07 9:31 AM Page 228

GRANITE CONSTRUCTION CO.

In July, Granite Construction Co.
rebuilt an old barrier wall along the
rim road of Lake Tahoe in California.

Performing Aggressively
Despite a slowdown in public funding, Granite Construction Co. is still completing high-profile projects. It
has been recognized by national groups and plans to complete more ‘mega-projects’ on the East Coast.
By Libby John as many projects this year, it is continuing to build aggres-

A lthough federal and state funding for public proj-

ects has decreased this year overall, that trend
might change in California as the state prepares
to pass a major transportation bill.
That is good news for Granite Construction Co., which
sively and bid on new work, he says. “We’re not really
doing anything differently,” he notes.

performs many projects in California, Project Manager
Benj Harding says.
Granite Construction Co. performs public projects and
heavy civil work such as roadwork, earthwork, dams,
bridges, highways and even some residential subdivisions.
The company does work in 30 states and has 50 offices
nationwide, but is most active in California, Harding says.
He says the market had been strong in
Granite Construction Co. the last four years, but has fallen this year,
www.graniteconstruction.com especially in the West. “A lot of funding in
Headquarters: Monterey, Calif.
Specialty: Heavy civil work the public sector has decreased in some
Benj Harding, project manag- markets,” he says. “It’s all about the tax-
er: “It’s all about the taxpayers payers and what they want to improve
and what they want to improve
and how they want to spend and how they want to spend money.”
money.” Although the company has not completed
Current Projects
Granite Construction Co. was founded in 1922 and has
grown into one of the largest heavy civil contractors in the
United States by performing a diverse mix of projects and
sizes. It also produces sand, gravel, asphalt and other aggre-
gate-based construction materials.
“From paving parking lots to building private roads and
pioneering major land development, Granite has the peo-
ple, equipment, construction materials, experience and
bonding capacity to complete most any size project on
time and on budget,” the company says.
In July, the company rebuilt an old barrier wall along
the rim road of Lake Tahoe in California. Safety was the
main issue in the $3 million job because the project was
performed in steep terrain, Harding says. “We used the
most recent harnesses and scaffolding that was right for
the job,” he says.

228 ■ CONSTRUCTION TODAY ■ OCTOBER 2007