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Dive brief:
- Construction on a new $2 billion terminal at John Glenn Columbus International Airport is one step closer to starting, despite friction between contractors and local union members.
- The Columbus Regional Airport Authority voted last month to approve another round of funding for the next phase of work at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, including $149 million for the construction manager in risk Hensel Phelps. The money will go towards improvements such as roads, electrical work, signage, underground services and pre-construction work.
- This will be the third wave of funding approved for Greeley, Colo.-based Hensel Phelps, bringing the total to $431.6 million. The CRAA also approved $51 million for Zanesville, Ohio-based Shelly and Sands to build a new terminal apron taxilane, the area where airports move, park and prepare planes.
Diving knowledge:
Local unions, led by the Columbus Building and Construction Trades Council, have pushed since February 2023 for a community benefit agreement, a form of project labor agreement this would ensure that project partners receive prevailing wages and dedicate certain jobs and contracts to local and minority businesses.
Dorsey Hager, executive secretary and treasurer of the trades council, said nothing had come of the negotiations and that Hensel Phelps refused to sign a CBA, on a podcast last month. The terminal project, which will start in 2025, has a target completion date of 2029.
Hensel Phelps and CRAA told Construction Dive last year that they were committed to supporting a local and diverse workforce and ensuring workers receive a prevailing wage. The team set a goal of 25% disadvantaged business participation in the project, equating to $400 million in contracts targeting small, local, minority, women and veteran-owned businesses.
That number remains a target, although the project has not yet progressed. In April, the CRAA organized an outreach event with 50 companies meeting these DBE requirements and re-committing 25% of project contracts to disadvantaged companies.
