City Grill

Christopher L. Snow 
Principal Geotechnical Engineer and Portland Office Manager
GZA

Snow says more commercial and industrial projects are using ground improvement technology to develop "what were considered problem geotechnical sites.” He adds, “with longer periods of dry ground and warm temperatures, we see more contractors push ahead with earthwork and shallow foundation activities through the winter, in addition to traditional winter work such as pile-driving.” 

Another trend is that larger and deeper excavations are “needed on sites with challenging geotechnical conditions, more often leading to finite-element modeling, real-time instrumentation monitoring or customized earthwork equipment to handle the job,”  he says.

Solar projects and multi-unit residential development are “active,” and highway and rail infrastructure have also been “strong,” Snow adds. But commercial office development “is in a lull as companies try to right-size their space to suit a hybrid work model.”  Meanwhile, “fierce” competition for design and construction technical, management and skilled trade workers continues as baby boomers retire, Snow says.