President’s Message

We Will Continue to Make Progress Working Together

For this month’s message, I thought it would be appropriate to reprint a letter from UCANE Executive Director Jeff Mahoney to all stakeholders addressing current escalation and supply issues. We must continue to work together in the coming weeks and months.

To All Interested Parties: On behalf of the members of the Utility Contractors’ Association of New England (UCANE), a trade association comprised of over 250 major contractors and associated business men and women who design, build, finance, insure, bond, and supply materials and equipment to the water, sewer, and underground utility construction industry, I write relative to recent industry developments with the design, development, planning, construction, and completion of current and upcoming water, wastewater, and underground utility public works projects. With the passage of the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), additional funding is being made to awarding authorities, whether regional or municipal, to complete critical water, wastewater, and underground utility projects. However, as you are already aware, due to a variety of uncontrollable factors, the construction industry, like many others, is currently experiencing price escalation and supply chain issues resulting in uncertain lead times. But UCANE members continue to be ready, willing, and able to do the work, and believe awarding authorities should take advantage of the additional monies and move forward with these projects without delay. Flexibility and communication will be crucial if we all hope to maximize the impact of this once-in-a-lifetime funding. UCANE recognizes and respects that awarding authorities have discretion when it comes to developing their public works projects. However, while the uncertainty remains, we would respectfully request consideration of a tailored approach which may include: • Adopting a more flexible approach to material selection and project scheduling that could increase the number of bidders for a given project, and could result in lower overall bid prices. • Relying on price adjustment clauses, which protect all parties from volatile market conditions by allowing for positive or negative adjustments, as necessary. • Embracing time extensions for supply-chain issues to attract prospective bidders who might otherwise determine a project schedule is too aggressive in the current climate. This short-term flexibility would not only increase the field of bidders competing for a given project, but could also result in lower overall bid prices, which ultimately benefits the taxpayers. Working together, contractors, designers, and awarding authorities can capitalize on this unprecedented level of funding and momentum for critical, long-overdue infrastructure investments. We have been frequently meeting with our municipal associations; they share the same concerns about this challenge that affects everyone. Thank you for your consideration and attention to this matter. We are proud of our partnership with public works officials and designers and we look forward to continuing to work together to meet the challenges in the months and years ahead. Respectfully, UTILITY CONTRACTORS’ ASSOCIATION OF NEW ENGLAND, INC. Jeff Mahoney, Executive Director