Highway/Bridge Construction Gains in 2025,
Environmental Public Works Decline: Dodge
BOSTON—Total construction starts expanded 2.6% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion, according to a report released on Jan. 23 by the Dodge Construction Network. Non-residential building starts fell by 6.6%, residential starts increased 1.0%, and nonbuilding starts grew 16.3% over the month.
For the full year, total construction starts expanded 5.4%. non-residential starts were up 4.5%, residential starts were down 4.8% and non-building starts were 18.7% higher when compared to 2024.
Regionally, total construction starts in December rose in the Northeast (+12.1% m/m), the South Central (+15.6% m/m), and the West (+6.9% m/m). Meanwhile, starts slowed down in the South Atlantic (-2.9% m/m) and the Midwest (-19.0% m/m).
“Non-building construction, alongside data centers, was the primary engine of growth in 2025, supporting a 5.4% expansion in the total dollar-value of starts,” stated Sarah Martin, associate director of Forecasting at Dodge Construction Network. “In square footage terms, however, building starts declined 4.7% alongside weaker residential, manufacturing and institutional activity.”
Residential
Residential building starts rose by 1.0% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $370 billion. Single family starts decreased 4.5% month-over-month, while multifamily starts gained 10.2%. In 2025, residential starts decreased 4.8%—with single family starts down 13.2% and multifamily starts up 13.1%.
Non-Residential
Non-residential building starts decreased 6.6% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $450 billion. Commercial starts were up 9.8%, alongside growth in offices and data centers (+7.4% m/m), parking garages (+38.8% m/m), hotels (+74.4% m/m) and warehouses (+0.7% m/m).
Meanwhile, retail starts (-12.2% m/m) posted a decline between November and December. Institutional starts declined 16.3%, driven by weaker education (-18.2% m/m) and miscellaneous institutional (-26.9% m/m) starts. This decline was partially offset by 7.9% m/m growth in healthcare facility starts. Manufacturing, meanwhile, pulled back 30.8% in December. In 2025, nonresidential starts improved 4.5%. Commercial and industrial starts expanded 10.9% and institutional starts receded 1.9% when compared to 2024.
Non-Building
Non-building construction starts grew 16.3% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $422 billion. Highways and bridges (+85.2% m/m) and miscellaneous nonbuilding (+35.9% m/m) supported growth, while environmental public works (-26.9% m/m) and electric power/utilities (-9.0% m/m) faced declines.
The largest nonbuilding projects to break ground in December included the $3.5-billion Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal (Phase 1) in New York City, the $1.6-billion Entergy Legend Power Station (754 MW) in Port Arthur, TX, and the $1.5-billion LAX Airport Roadway Improvements project in Los Angeles.
Published: January 27, 2026