Lots of Rain Washes Out Construction Projects

Some of us may be wishing for sunny skies, just so we can enjoy the great outdoors. But for some people, the wet weather is putting a damper on getting their jobs done. Coming in from the rain is good for your health, but not your wealth, if you`re in the construction business. "It only gives you maybe 20 hours of pay. It brings it down pretty much," said Ricardo Padilla, of Joe Moore Decks, Docks, and Fences. Because of the rain and mud outdoors, these workers have taken their jobs inside. And if there isn`t any work there, they head home for the day, putting the company`s home construction projects behind by 30%. "Sometimes it could be half your pay of the week, because you only work 1/2 of the week," Padilla said. But for James Randleas, even those small jobs are hard to find. "The weather is killing my business," he says of his concrete and excavation business, Planit Dirt. In November, Little Rock received over ten inches of rain, 4.5 inches above normal. While rainfall totals for December were below the normal, the seven days of January have already seen over 3.6 inches of rain. Not being able to pour concrete or dig dirt, keeps Randleas off the job completely. "If it did quit raining, it takes 4 or 5 days for it to dry out a little bit to get a piece of equipment in to operate," he said. "I`m probably $30,000 down from this time last year," he said. The pace is slower on the highways too, where the days lost aren`t a total wash out. "But all of the contractors have financial incentives to get the job done as quickly as possible," explained Farrell Wilson, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Contractors are still on the lookout for the first sunny day to break through the clouds so they can get back to breaking ground. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department says it expects a slow season between mid-December and mid-March. So, all of its construction projects so far are still on schedule.