The planned route now has detour to Houston for a project assignment. One extra day of travel, one day of downtime (float) and four days of meetings means a four day delay to the trip completion. The final route home will have a different path than planned. Wow, that sounds very similar to a delay calculation for a construction claim!
In leaving Louisiana on I-12 & I-10 I found out at least I-12 has had an asphalt overlay twice since hurricane Katrina. The first one was to repair the damage and the second was this year due to stimulus and/or FEMA funding. Big money for less than a five year life span! Interstate 10 from the Louisiana/Texas state line to the greater Beaumont, Texas area is still under what appears to be perpetual improvement. The same can be said for Houston. There is multi-year road construction on Loop 8. At least they are building or re-building roads that will last longer than five years!
There is a stark contrast in medical projects in the area. One project, east of Houston near Katy, has ongoing construction for a larger sized facility. The other, south of Houston near Clear Lake, is partially built with construction suspended at this time.
The greater Houston area has many empty offices, flex office/warehouse space, and other commercial buildings bordering their loop roads. There is some commercial construction in spite of all the vacancies. Construction equipment rental companies have plenty of equipment inventory available for rent on their lots. Not a good sign.
The lack of private projects has made an impact upon engineering firms in the area. Some offices have cut down staff levels by seventy-five percent with the remaining staff wondering when the next project will come in the door. Others have cut out the third party consultants and reduced working hours along with pay. The steps they are taking are very similar to those being undertaken by the construction firms.
On a brighter note. If you want some of the best chicken fried steak in Texas, check out Goodson’s Café in Tomball, Texas. Stop in hungry, it is just possibly the best chicken fried steak you will find in the United States.
