A $153 million expansion to a sewage treatment plant in Hartford helped drive a growth in public-works construction nationwide in October. Overall, new construction starts in October advanced 13 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $591.1 billion.
According to the Dodge Data & Analytics monthly construction report, the increase follows the lackluster performance for construction starts during August and September, when activity fell to the lowest levels reported so far in 2015. Much of October’s gain for total construction was due to a sharp rebound by non-residential building, with additional support coming from a moderate uptick for housing as a result of further strengthening by multifamily housing.
The public works categories in October grew 4 percent, showing further improvement after September’s slight 1 percent gain, which followed double-digit declines in July and August.
