Out
of state contractors submitting low bids on the booming North Dakota highway
construction project schedule are discovering that housing for their workers
near the job sites is very scarce, and very expensive. North Dakota Highway
Department Director of Construction Cal Gendreau says the number of out of
state contractors working on projects for his agency is up 20% from the level
six years ago. North Dakota awarded 103 out of a total of 192 bids on highway
projects to out of state contractors this year.
For
both in state and out of state road builders, the oil patch construction boom
in the state is shrinking the housing supply and driving rental prices through
the roof. Spokane’s Acme Construction won a bid on an $18 million road widening
job, only to find no place for workers to live near the site. The company ended
up purchasing land along the road it was widening, bringing in two heavy duty
diesel generators, two mobile homes and a small village of fifth wheel campers,
and hooking it all up to a 1,000 gallon sewage holding tank to make room for
the crew. Oftedal Construction’s Project Manager Mike Schriner is running a $62
million road job through the Badlands, and reports similar worker housing woes:
“We’ve got guys living in tents in Little Missouri State Park.” Schriner’s
employer put one employee to work full time just finding places for crew
members to live. Trailers in nearby communities rent for $1,550.00 per month.
Of
course, North Dakota taxpayers are footing the bill for all this expensive
temporary housing. North Dakota DOT’s Gendreau says, “We know they need to
cover their housing expenses and it’s built into their bid.”
