by Rick Conner

2016 Holds Great Promise. The beginning of a new year usually offers great hope, optimism, and positive thoughts for what lies ahead. As we set sail in blue waters, I feel very confident about our journey through 2016, and here are four reasons why.

1. We have more opportunities in the hopper right now than ever before, and we have a strong likelihood of winning many of those opportunities.
2. The marketplace is very well set and is in better shape than this time a year ago. Our clients are healthy; they are planning for expansion and growth in the year ahead; and they are looking to us to continuing delivering distinctive, innovative, and value-added projects.
3. Our governor and state legislature are talking about highway funding as the number-one legislative issue. Pence has proposed a $1 billion highway-funding boost over four years by drawing money from the state’s cash reserves and taking out loans. State Republican House leaders are proposing increasing the state’s gasoline and cigarette taxes to fund highway projects while House Democrats are calling for $2 billion in spending on highways and bridges. The focus on increased funding for highway and bridge investment in Indiana is good for our business.
4. On the national scene, Congress passed a $305 billion measure to fund highways and mass-transit projects for five years—the longest in nearly two decades. This is a huge step forward for our nation’s infrastructure funding and our design-build pursuits.

Finally, and most importantly, I know that as long as we continue to deliver superior service and work product, we will be very successful in 2016. Thank you for everything you’ve done this past year to make us great—you are doing fantastic stuff. Keep up the great work, and we all should feel very comfortable about 2016.