Outof state contractors submitting low bids on the booming North Dakota highwayconstruction project schedule are discovering that housing for their workersnear the job sites is very scarce, and very expensive. North Dakota HighwayDepartment Director of Construction Cal Gendreau says the number of out ofstate contractors working on projects for his agency is up 20% from the levelsix years ago. North Dakota awarded 103 out of a total of 192 bids on highwayprojects to out of state contractors this year.
Forboth in state and out of state road builders, the oil patch construction boomin the state is shrinking the housing supply and driving rental prices throughthe roof. Spokane’s Acme Construction won a bid on an $18 million road wideningjob, only to find no place for workers to live near the site. The company endedup purchasing land along the road it was widening, bringing in two heavy dutydiesel 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 forthe crew. Oftedal Construction’s Project Manager Mike Schriner is running a $62million road job through the Badlands, and reports similar worker housing woes:“We’ve got guys living in tents in Little Missouri State Park.” Schriner’semployer put one employee to work full time just finding places for crewmembers to live. Trailers in nearby communities rent for $1,550.00 per month.
Ofcourse, North Dakota taxpayers are footing the bill for all this expensivetemporary housing. North Dakota DOT’s Gendreau says, “We know they need tocover their housing expenses and it’s built into their bid.”
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