A surge of major building projects in Central Iowa is nearing its end, but construction industry leaders don’t see a lot of idle time ahead for workers. They say they have reason to believe more good-sized projects will be announced soon.

“It’s slowing down right now,” said Steve Ruepke, business manager for Iron Workers Local 67, “but it looks like a lot of projects are coming up in a month or so.” He mentioned the planned Allied Insurance office building and parking structure downtown and the new Polk County Jail as examples of projects a bit further out on the calendar.

Other experts echoed his comment, but none would be specific about other plans they’ve seen or heard about. “There are a lot of things they talk about, but nobody knows for sure,” Ruepke said. “There are rumors of some big projects coming.”

“While it appears that a number of big projects are wrapping up, Central Iowa will continue to experience an influx of large-scale projects,” said Mike Tousley, president of The Weitz Co. “According to construction data [measuring project starts in 2006] for the five-county area that comprises Central Iowa, 2006 looks to be better than 2005 by approximately 9 percent. There are a significant number of big projects slated to begin this year, and as a result, the market will remain strong.”

The start of a major project usually brings workers from elsewhere, and the conclusion of those projects means that some people will be moving on to work on a building, bridge or highway somewhere else. But the numbers are relatively small.

“We’ve seen maybe a dozen iron workers go off to Omaha and Kansas City,” Ruepke said. Iron workers erect structural steel and install curtain wall systems, among other tasks, and as many as 450 have been employed in Central Iowa during the past couple of years. The membership of Local 67 is only about 375. “We have hired ‘boomers’ from out of town,” Ruepke said. “It’s been going that way the last two or three years. We’ve had excellent times for five, six or seven years.”

After the completion of projects such as the Iowa Events Center and much of the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage complex in West Des Moines, “we’re getting back to normal,” Ruepke said. “But all of our members are working.”

Ruepke said ethanol and biodiesel plants have become a significant source of work, along with the racetrack being built in Newton.

United Contractors in Johnston has been involved with rebuilding bridges over Interstate 235, and company President Gary Sandquist said a lot of the people involved in that specialized form of construction will move on when the bridge building is done.

“We’ve had 75 or 80 workers who came here and have stayed four years,” he said. “Some of them might be going to Council Bluffs or Davenport; bridge projects are coming up there.”

Eric Fogg, executive director of the Masonry Institute of Iowa, said he expects bricklayers and stonemasons to stay busy here. “Masonry workers do move around some, but mostly within the state,” he said. “Workers shift back and forth between here and Waterloo, for example, and go where the casinos are going up.

“It has been good the last couple of years, and I don’t see lot of change,” Fogg said. “I think there are some projects on the horizon that will keep our guys busy. I’m taking that cue from members I talk to.” The Masonry Institute represents about 100 companies and unions in Iowa.

When Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America, spoke here last month at the annual convention of the Master Builders of Iowa, he predicted that national construction in the private non-residential and public sectors will increase 8 to 10 percent this year over 2005. He noted that manufacturing construction increased 21 percent last year, and said, “manufacturing will be strong again in 2006, and as contractors, you’re going to share in that.”

Simonson noted that commercial construction – referring to retail and warehouse projects – soared 26 percent from 2004 to 2005. He also reported that U.S. construction employment climbed by 246,000 workers in 2005 compared with 2004.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 8 million construction workers in 2005, just over 1 million were union members. Union membership declined by about 50,000 last year.