MEMPHIS, Tenn. — While the Winter Blast has melted in the Mid-South, construction companies continue to deal with delayed projects. Mother Nature made progress nearly impossible for several weeks.
Grace Construction Company President Lance Forsdick said the winter weather affected the ground in a way that makes building tougher.
“When you have a freeze/thaw situation, the top six to 12 inches of the dirt becomes unusable essentially. It takes weeks for that to dry out,” Forsdick said.
He said this week’s rainy forecast won’t help matters much, because over-saturation weakens the ground, so it’s not always strong enough to hold up whatever is being built.
He said some companies swap out unusable dirt for better soil or gravel, but that can increase costs.
Jerrel Bennett with Bennett Construction told WREG the slick, icy roads made things difficult for his construction projects.
“Getting workers to and from the job is a challenge and then if you have materials, you’ve got to get to and from the job without getting those damaged,” Bennett said.
Bennett said the rain is keeping him from starting new construction jobs currently.
“Hopefully, after this week, we’ll be looking back at this and thinking that was a nice vacation,” Bennett said.