Georgia’s unseasonably warm weather is putting the Department of Transportation ahead of schedule for many construction projects. Normally, winter temperatures would have delayed them. But a dragging economy and a flat housing market are still keeping local construction companies out in the cold, financially.

Thanks to Mother Nature and her warm weather spell, construction projects across Georgia are scheduled to finish on-time, if not early.  The Department of Transportation is driving forward with the widening of 1-75 in Bibb County now that crews can work through warmer nights.  There is also progress on US19 in Upson County and Grayson Highway in Gwinnett County.

But Sam Rapczak, of Reese Construction in Macon, says that warm weather is only helping them finish the projects they have on tap—it’s not helping create more work:

“We have not seen a rise in commercial activity, we have not seen a rise in residential starts and we haven’t seen an increase in the Department of Transportation’s spending more money than they have in the last couple years, and until that happens, the weather makes no difference.”

The winter’s drier weather is also contributing to more state highway projects getting completed early.

Tags: GDOT, warm weather, 1-75, construction companies