Winter Construction - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Winter Construction

Weather plays a big factor in North Dakota especially when your workplace is outside.

Construction crews are continuing to push forward at a breakneck pace despite this past weekends snowfall.

Tonight Shaun Sipma looks into the what winter means for builders as they race to meet the housing demands of the region.

Time is money and the construction season won't wait just because of the snow and cold.

(David Brown, Eagle Ridge Partners) "It doesn't stop, October, November, not anymore. It goes straight through."

David Brown with Eagle Ridge Partners is working in the large new development in northeast Minot.

Being from Fargo he knows working construction through the winter means battling the elements and having the right tools to get the job done conditions are anything but ideal.

(David Brown, Eagle Ridge Partners) You got to go and remove snow. You got to keep it going. With new projects it's not as bad because you can keep it down, it insulates it from the frost going down but of course when you get to your pouring your concrete you get blankets involved, you get a lot more manpower you need out here. You need ground thaw heaters."

Which also affects timetables, especially when a work site gets covered with snow overnight.

(Jeshua Ellis, Solid Concrete-Minnesota) "It might set you back a couple more days, so it would be a five day deal and it would set you back maybe six, seven days."

While some may be acclimated to the snow and cold, others are now just getting their first taste of it.

(Jeshua Ellis, Solid Concrete-Minnesota) "I've got a guy from Maine, he's from Florida, Oregon, and that guy over there is from Florida."

With tough times elsewhere around the country people are willing to tough it out for steady work.

(David Brown, Eagle Ridge Partners) "First thing I tell them is to get some gloves, a good pair of gloves and a jacket, you know you're going to need some boots and that's just it. Everybody has kind of adapted."

Brown says winter will determine whether projects stay on schedule.

Last year crews stayed ahead of timetables because of a very mild winter.

He says he's hoping for a repeat but certainly not counting on it.

In Minot, Shaun Sipma KX News.