CHARLOTTE — Construction spending on upcoming transit and roads projects in Charlotte will peak at $500 million to $600 million annually between 2035 and 2040, putting heavy demands on an already challenging construction labor market, according to a new city government report published this week.
Beginning in 2028 and continuing until 2055, construction spending will exceed $100 million every year just from the series of projects enacted as part of a referendum approved by local voters last fall.
At the same time, the report finds that Charlotte’s business sector and labor market need to participate in new programs aimed at helping companies prepare for transportation-related projects and training residents for a range of construction jobs.
The spending cataloged above only counts projects and money approved for transit projects throughout Mecklenburg County and roads in Charlotte as part of the 1-cent sales tax transportation referendum passed in November. Additional money was approved for roads-related expansion and improvements in the six Mecklenburg towns surrounding Charlotte.
In all, $25.3 billion will be spent on transit ($13.7 billion), roads ($7.8 billion) and bus service upgrades ($3.8 billion) between now and 2058. The county tax hike will generate $19.4 billion, with an additional $5.9 billion anticipated from matching federal transit grants.
An estimated 5,000 jobs in construction and related professional services such as engineering and design will be created over the 30-year construction period for these projects, the report states. The jobs figure includes 4,085 direct jobs (those created from the building, operation and maintenance of the various projects) and 689 combined indirect jobs (suppliers, vendors and contractors, among others).
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