The Dodge Momentum Index jumped 4% in December, pushing it 17% above a year ago and to its highest level since February 2009, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.The index measures non-residential building projects entering the planning stage, which is a lead indicator of non-residential building activity in the coming year.There were nine commercial building projects that each exceeded $100 million and entered into planning during December. Planning activity in the institutional building market increased 3.8% during the month.

November Construction Starts Jump 13% for the Month At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $677.8 billion, new construction starts in November climbed 13% from the previous month, says Dodge Data & Analytics. On a year-to-date basis, total construction starts in the first 11 months of 2014 rose 7% from 2013's total. Most of the gain came from the non-residential building market, which increased 17%. Residential construction rose 7%, while non-building work was down 4% for the year.Ex-Louis Berger CEO Pleads Guilty to US Overbilling Charges Derish Wolff, 79, former CEO of engineer Louis Berger, pleaded guilty on Dec. 12

Dodge Starts Slip 4% in October The value of new construction starts settled back 4% in October to a seasonally adjusted rate of $589.8 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The decline follows the 10% increase reported in September, which was the strongest month so far in 2014.During the first 10 months of the year, total construction starts, on an unadjusted basis, were $475.8 billion, up 5% from the same period a year ago. "Recent months have shown an up-and-down pattern for construction starts around what is still a rising trend," says Robert Murray, chief economist for DD&A. "Non-residential

A project to rescue a dilapidated, 178-year-old house on the edge of Washington, D.C.'s National Mall won a $1-million grant on Dec. 9 from American Express.The lockkeeper's house served a freight canal, located near where the Washington Monument is now. Canals formed an inland freight transportation system, which was eclipsed by railroads in the 1870s.Boarded up since the 1970s, the house will be moved back from the road and undergo extensive interior and exterior restoration.

Market Momentum Increases The Dodge Momentum Index posted a monthly increase of 7.6% in October, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The October increase reverses three months of declines, leaving the index 18% above a year ago.The index's October rise was the result of greater planning activity for institutional building, which was up 8.8% for the month, and commercial building planning, which was up 6.8% for the month. Six commercial projects totaled more than $100 million.Feds To Auction More Acreage For Offshore Wind Development The Dept. of the Interior on Jan. 29, 2015, will conduct its largest competitive lease sale

Related Links: Complete 2015 Economic Forecast (subscription required) The construction recovery in 2014 had two major players: A non-residential building market that outperformed expectations and a homebuilding market that fell below expectations. The combined effect will be an estimated 5% increase in the dollar value of construction starts this year, according to McGraw Hill Construction's Dodge Data & Analytics. A year ago, Dodge expected the total construction market to grow 9% in 2014.Dodge predicts that the recovery will regain momentum in 2015, when construction starts are expected to increase 9%. Dodge announced its 2015 forecast during the Outlook Executive Conference

Photo by Pat Cashin / MTA A Signature Station Debuts After 12 years of planning and construction, one of New York City's megaprojects is officially open. The Arup-led design features a 53-ft-dia glass oculus that rises 108 ft over an atrium and a stainless-steel "sky net." Measuring 144 ft x 140 ft at street level, the three-floor complex required nine construction contracts with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction division, with Parsons Brinckerhoff and Bovis Lend Lease LLC also managing.Chemical Maker Picks Illinois To Build $1.4B Fertilizer Plant Cronus Chemicals has selected a 235-acre site in Tuscola, Ill., over a

Photo by Iwan Baan Related Links: Progress is Slow but Steady at World Trade Center Development Manhattan's 1,776-ft-tall One World Trade Center Officially OpensThe $3.9-billion One World Trade Center—the Western Hemisphere's tallest building, thanks to a 441-ft-tall spire—officially opened on Nov. 3, more than 13 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that destroyed the original 110-story Twin Towers. The 104-story tower—designed by architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with structural engineer WSP Cantor Seinuk and mechanical engineer Jaros Baum & Bolles after an early collaboration with Studio Daniel Libeskind—has redundant and beefed-up structural and mechanical systems, and the air-supply