Among his many campaign promises, Donald Trump pledged to fix America’s crumbling roads and bridges with $1 trillion in infrastructure spending. Almost seven months into office, though, and two months removed from his vaunted “infrastructure week,” the president has revealed few details for how to pay for it. As his advisers look for ideas, a group of Australian politicians and executives has been lobbying for the administration to adopt a controversial policy of selling or leasing airports, toll roads, and other public facilities to raise money for infrastructure projects.

Just about every Tuesday for three years, structural-engineer Erleen Hatfield arose at 3:30 a.m. to catch a 6 a.m. flight from New York City to Atlanta. The early riser was determined to make a 9:30 a.m. meeting for her most dynamic project in more than a quarter century of practice—a 2-million-sq-ft stadium with a 14.5-acre convertible roof that opens and closes at its center, much like a camera lens iris. The daring design, which brazenly departs from kinetic-roof sports architecture, makes earlier “boxes with sliding lids” look almost simple.

Perhaps it was only apropos. This past month, President Trump, former reality show host of The Apprentice, signed an executive order calling for more money and a bigger role by private companies in designing federal apprenticeship programs.

The federal government and many states including California have apprenticeship programs designed to provide a pathway for individuals to enter into the workforce. In California, with limited exceptions, public works project valued at $30,000 or more are required to use apprentices.

When engineers made plans to reinforce and upgrade the carrying capacity of the Empire State Building’s mast and tower by adding 39 tons of steel, they had to find a way to protect pedestrians from falling rivets, tools and materials. Roofing the observatory and building bridges over the sidewalks 1,250 ft below were lousy options. The top of the iconic New York City building has an open-air observatory at the 86th floor and premium viewing spaces at the 102nd and 103rd levels. Annually, these spaces host about 4.3 million visitors and generate about $85 million in revenue. Soaring above the busy streets, a 200-ft-tall steel broadcast tower bristles with antennas that generate about $20 million more. Together, the observatory, mast and tower are the crowning jewel of the 86-year-old icon, which is owned by the Empire State Realty Trust Inc.

The construction industry added 11,000 jobs during May and its unemployment rate improved from April’s level but it was slightly worse than the year-earlier figure, the Labor Dept. has reported.

Many of us have experienced that proverbial “lightbulb moment,” a flash of insight when the complexities of a new or challenging concept finally make sense. But when it comes to the nuances of prefabrication, a recent industry survey says many contractors are still in the dark.

The State Dept. is pushing forward with its embassy construction program, expecting to award contracts this year to build four new facilities and renovate two others. It also is seeking a cadre of design teams for a range of tasks on unspecified future projects. But the program’s 2018 funding won’t be determined for months.

A former Chicago-area concrete and carpentry subcontractor has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for fronting a women’s business enterprise/disadvantaged business enterprise (WBE/DBE) fraud scheme that involved multiple major public infrastructure projects.

People who are serious about business won’t tell you that planning doesn’t work. Yet, that’s what countless small businesses do when they “wing it,” instead of having a safety program. Why? Because a safety program is really about so much more than just putting a ‘method to the madness.’ It also really helps to make people more aware and thoughtful about the dangers they face everyday. That’s exactly what’s needed to avoid the madness you see below.

Separate actions earlier this month by California Supreme Court justices and two state legislators could set some new parameters for construction contracting in the state.

The House has voted to block an Obama administration regulation that would require prospective federal contractors to disclose past violations of labor and workplace-safety laws to qualify to bid on federal work.