Construction Goes On In Brookings Under Chilly Conditions

BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) — The days of construction as a seasonal industry are gone. Old practices of crews working on projects from as soon as the ground thaws until the earth becomes too chilled and frozen for work are a thing of the past for most.

And evidence of that can be seen throughout Brookings this year.

Work continues on Dakota Prairie Elementary, the Brookings School District’s new K-3 school near Main Avenue South and 26th Street South. On the northwest side of Brookings, new townhomes are under construction at Western Avenue.

Along Sixth Street, a new building for businesses and condos is in the works. And near the Swiftel Center, there’s been steady progress on an extended-stay hotel.

For Tony Brower, owner of Brower Construction, a construction company that deals mostly in home additions and remodels, working through the winter is nothing new.

“I used to do commercial (construction) for Mills Construction, but we went year-round then, too. If you’re lucky, you can work inside all winter,” Brower told the Brookings Register ( ). And that’s what they try to plan, too, by getting the house framed and enclosed in time for interior work in the colder months.

With nearly 28 years of experience at Brookings’ Planning, Zoning and Housing Department, Dan Hanson said this is a major change from when he began his work with the city.

“About 20 years ago, they would just shut totally down a lot of times, and winters down here were kind of quiet. They’re not quiet anymore at all. Everybody’s working,” Hanson said.

The key to this change is demand, according to Don DeNure, the president of the Brookings Regional Builders Association and co-owner, along with his wife, of homebuilding company EJW Properties.

“There’s a lot of demand out there in the construction industry for projects. Brookings especially has been very fortunate to have the growth we’ve had in housing, commercial properties,” DeNure said.

Brower backed this up when he said that this has been one of his busiest years. He doesn’t expect demand to decrease much in the near future, either.

DeNure said, “As business owners, we need to keep our employees working and maybe I can’t speak for everybody that’s some of the reason they’re working more in the winter than they have in the past to keep employees at work. There was a time that employees would work through the summer and take the winter off. But not so much anymore.”

Also, better technology has helped make winter work an option, even if it remains an expensive option at times.

“We didn’t have back then ground-warming machines, all of the pneumatic tools that can speed up the process,” said DeNure.

But no matter the advancements in technology, DeNure was adamant that it came down to the workers themselves for construction in the winter months to continue.

“It takes a hardy crew. I’d like for people to realize that it takes a hardy bunch to be out there day after day, out in the elements,” DeNure said.

After all, on-the-job hazards in construction aren’t helped any with the impaired fine motor skills that come with frigid weather or by patches of ice.

As Brower pointed out, keeping your hands warm when you’re trying to grab your hammer and or hold on to a nail is a difficult task in frigid conditions.

“The safety and well-being of the crew is foremost when we’re making that decision to work outside,” DeNure said. “Most contractors are going to try to plan their work outside to be on those warmer days and hopefully have some inside work to do on those bone-chilling days. But sometimes that choice isn’t there.” In addition, construction companies are provided with industry-specific expertise that spans the gamut from assessments, construction OSHA training or confined space OSHA training, and education to program management and technology.

Potential dangers aside, the cold temperatures can simply slow down workers and work progress. The extra layers of clothes hampering movement is certainly a factor, Brower said, as are time-consuming tasks like snow removal from the work site.

“If you don’t have the exterior walls of the house framed and don’t have a roof on, you can end up scooping snow three or four times,” he said.

But Brower didn’t seem to mind any of that, seeming dismissive of the seasonal conditions as just another part of the job.

“I’m sure not everybody would want to work out there,” he said. “You just put on enough clothes and try to keep warm. When you get cold, take a break and warm up, I guess. It’s probably not for everybody. When it’s 7 below zero, people don’t want to go outside and put on a tool belt.”

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Information from: Brookings Register,