December 6, 2007

Contractors hit hard by shrinking aggregate supply

ARE WE RUNNING OUT of sand and gravel? It seems absurd to think so, particularly because the mile-wide chunk of ice that carved out the Puget Sound eons ago helped provide Washington with a bounty of high-quality aggregates.

Nevertheless, according to state geologist Ron Teissere: “We don't have enough mineral resources from permitted sites to complete all the projects that are currently on the state's books.”

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Previous columns:

• A cool solution to messy problems, 11-29-2007
• Expert framer recalls a lifetime of carpentry, 11-15-2007
• Lawyer says construction industry is broken, 11-08-2007
• A new worry for contractors: phone fraud, 11-01-2007
• Time to crack down on illegal contractors?, 10-25-2007
• Library's new heaters hit the spot, 10-18-2007
• Will rising costs choke off our road projects?, 10-11-2007
• Is your house ready for a wool sweater?, 10-04-2007