Knife River has become an architect of opportunity, transforming lives one career at a time. Founded in 1959 and with locations in 14 states, the company prioritizes people, safety, quality, environmental responsibility, and workforce development.

In 2022, Knife River made a significant investment in the future of construction by building an 80,000-square-foot heated dome and a 16,000-square-foot training center as part of its 230-acre campus in Albany. That same year, the company furthered its commitment to workforce diversity by partnering with NAMC-Oregon. From this partnership, the Paving Pathways Scholarship Program emerged. Paving Pathways provides no-cost training and certification opportunities to career seekers from diverse communities. Since its inception, the program has successfully trained and certified more than 40 individuals, many of whom have secured employment – some even within Knife River itself.

Knife River demonstrates an unwavering commitment to investing in people and fostering an inclusive workforce. The company’s proactive approach to addressing industry challenges – such as the skilled labor shortage and lack of diversity – demonstrates accountability and leadership. Its approach is simple: remove barriers, provide access, and watch potential flourish. By prioritizing safety, quality, and inclusivity, Knife River isn’t just building a company, it’s constructing a more equitable future, one career at a time.

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The ability to inject carbon dioxide into concrete has existed for decades. But only within the past decade have parties begun to engage in such efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

Now, Vancouver, British Columbia-based CarbonCure has brought its carbon-sequestering technology to the Troutdale production plant of national concrete producer Knife River. Proprietary technology is used to inject recycled carbon dioxide into a given concrete mix, reducing the cement content correspondingly.

Following production of several test batches, the first field-grade batch of CarbonCure concrete was poured in February at Portland International Airport as part of the Port of Portland‘s Parking Additions and Consolidated Rental Car Facility (PACR) project. It’s being tackled by general contractor JE Dunn Construction.

“The Port was interested in what can we do that would be green on their project,” said Scott Thayer, project manager for Portland firm Yost Grube Hall Architecture, which designed the project. “The whole point of this is to reduce the cement content in the concrete. It’s one of the most carbon-intensive products in the world, especially in the amounts it is used and its prevalence in the world of construction. What’s beautiful about carbon is it’s a perfect substitute for the cement. It has similar strength-enhancing properties in the concrete mix.”

Yukari Kubo, a design professional with YGH and co-chair of the firm’s sustainability committee, said the key to getting a large manufacturer like Knife River to jump on board was to specify use of CarbonCure.

“It takes the architects to specify it and bring it to the attention of the client,” she said. “Out here it just didn’t exist.”

After calling concrete manufacturers on the East Coast, where CarbonCure has made more inroads, however, it was like talking to company representatives, she said.

“The only reason they don’t use it on every project is that the architects don’t specify it,” she said. “It’s a superior product.”

The technology is a little more than 10 years old, said Kevin Davis, CarbonCure’s Pacific Northwest representative. But it has begun to enter the industry only in the past several years.

“We’ve been focusing on the concrete producers for the last four years, so people like Knife River are the type of firms we deal with,” Davis said. “They supply a lot of concrete, and it makes a lot of sense.”

CarbonCure uses processed industrial carbon dioxide captured at a British Petroleum oil refinery in Blaine, Washington.

“It’s the same as is used in soft drinks and beer,” Davis said. “It’s readily available, and we’ve developed a technology that injects it into concrete, recalcifies the cement and allows use of less cement and makes it stronger. It just takes a little bit of software and technology to implement.”

Because the carbon dioxide replaces cement – the most costly ingredient of concrete – in a mix, the aggregate cost is reduced accordingly.

As climate change continues to gain attention, the technology is expected to attract interest, said Kelly Alexander, ready mix manager for Knife River’s Metro Division, which operates the Troutdale plant.

“We try and work with people like that to get the message out there,” he said. “So it’s our hope this won’t be the last Knife River plant we do, or the last in Portland. We make 3.8 million cubic yards a year, so there’s a tremendous opportunity to address most of this. We have the ability to impact production significantly across the state.”

Alexander said YGH approached Knife River last year, made its interest in CarbonCure known and got the process rolling. By the time Knife River put in a tender for the concrete on the project, CarbonCure technology had been specified for bidders.

“We tend to get the technology integrated,” he said. “Sometimes producers come to us proactively, and the other way is when someone like YGH specifies it into a project.”

So far, San Francisco is a very strong market for the new technology, as well as cities on the East Coast.

“In general, yes, the coasts are good,” Alexander said. “But we have a strong Midwest presence in Chicago, and we have pockets of business that tend to be around producers that have that sustainability message, and sometimes it doesn’t matter where they are.”

Davis was on hand in Troutdale in February to oversee installation of CarbonCure’s technology at Knife River’s plant, as well as the first pours of footings and pile caps featuring the new mixes.

“We’ll take a standard mix that Knife River has and add CO2 to that directly,” Davis said.

The company’s experience has shown the injection of carbon dioxide directly into a mix increases its strength by roughly 10 to 12 percent. But that’s only part of the equation.

“They need concrete that’s delivered to specs, not necessarily stronger, so we reduce the amount of cement to allow them to achieve their PSI figure,” Davis said. “It achieves the design strength with less cement, and that’s what gives us the carbon reduction.”

That’s the concept in a nutshell.

“The fact this hasn’t become the norm more quickly is a little bit surprising to me because it’s such a clear win,” Thayer said.

It’s a huge advance for the entire industry, Kubo added.

“All of the concrete manufacturers I spoke with on the East Coast were not charging any extra for it on any of their projects,” she said. “It is a fantastic technology and a game changer for our industry in terms of embodied carbon, which is what YGH is really focused on right now.”

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Completion is finally in sight for Multnomah County’s Central Courthouse project.

With delivery scheduled for spring 2020, the three-year process to erect a new 17-story, $325 million courthouse building on Portland’s waterfront is entering the home stretch as the number of craft workers on site starts to ramp down significantly. From a high three months ago of some 350 workers on site each day, that figure is now down to just over 200 as rough-in has been completed and finish work accelerates.

“The biggest period was about three or four months ago because you had everything happening,” said Justin Paterson, project manager for construction manager/general contractor Hoffman Construction. “You were still doing rough-in on the upper floors, but now the wet-side mechanical guys are pulling out and the dry-side mechanical guys are pulling out from the rough in, and they’re down to a couple of people.”

Architecture firms SRG Partnership and CGL RicciGreene designed the 461,000 square foot building, which will feature 44 total courtrooms on floors eight through 17. Additional small claims, traffic and other high-volume court functions will be located in the renovated historic Jefferson Station building at the southwest corner of the project site on Southwest First Avenue and Jefferson Street.

The project is aiming for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold rating. The new facility will replace the old county courthouse on Southwest Fourth Avenue, which was completed in 1914 and is considered by the county to be functionally obsolete. The older building does not meet modern seismic codes, and is considered at high risk in case of an earthquake.

The new courthouse will be an estimated 46 percent more efficient than a conventional code building, and will use energy saving strategies that include radiant slab heating and cooling, a high-efficiency chiller plant, displacement ventilation, radiant panel heating and cooling, thermal storage in fire and rainwater tanks and chilled beams. A rooftop solar array will help generate power for the building.

Another notable feature is the limestone cladding used on the building exterior and on the interior walls of the main lobby. The cladding was fabricated by Columbia Stone and is being installed by the company’s own personnel.

Further, because the building is designed to withstand a significant earthquake, viscous dampers akin to shock absorbers have been placed throughout floors eight through 17, while outsized concrete and steel structural members anchor its framework.

This is most evident in the main entry, where massive octagonal structural columns serve both a functional and aesthetic purpose.

“It’s not hollow on the inside, it’s solid concrete and it’s poured exactly like that,” Paterson said. “It’s got a wide-flange beam on the inside of it and then a rebar cage and basically a steel shell goes around that. We build that in two halves, board form line it, stand it up, bolt it together and then the concrete is pumped in from the bottom.”

Once the head pressure falls too low, he added, which is right around the 40-foot mark, crews quickly switch over and start pouring from the top. “You’re trying to make the gap, the seam, disappear,” Paterson said. “So they have to move pretty quickly.”

There’s the new, and there’s also the tried and true. The renovation of the historic, three-story Jefferson Station building falls squarely in the latter category. The first reinforced concrete structure built in Portland, the old building is being refurbished for use as high-traffic courtroom space, but because of its historic designation the original façade has been retained even as the building has been physically connected with the new courthouse tower.

Another original touch, however, is purely for show.

A 20-ton-capacity gantry crane dating to 1909 will remain on its original track on the top level of Jefferson Station, still able to roll back and forth smoothly on its track. That discovery, however, took a bit of work.

“It (the crane) was actually still sitting on a little stub of rail that was still there,” Paterson said. “We do a lot of work for Sound Transit in Washington, so we called them up and said ‘Hey, where do we buy railroad track?’ And they said ‘Oh, no problem, we’ve got a railroad track company,’ and he sent me a name.”

A Hoffman engineer sent the firm a profile of the needed track and a photo of the Jefferson Station crane. The response was somewhat unexpected.

“One of our engineers sent them a profile of it and a picture of it and the guy said ‘You know what? We actually have some of that in our yard.’ So they shipped it down here, it was actually pretty cheap, and we installed it ourselves.”

As it turns out, the century-old crane was built to last.

“We just connected the rail together and some guys got up there and unlocked the wheels and the damn thing still rolls,” Paterson said. “It’s got a chain fall on it and they started pulling on the chain and it traveled on its own.”

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It’s auspicious timing that the regional president of the largest highway material supplier in Oregon will serve as president of the largest construction group in the state during the 2017 legislative session – it could see the largest transportation bill passed in more than a decade.

Brian Gray, who heads Knife River Corp.’s Northwest division, is optimistic about the year ahead. He’s also energetic about safety – especially in highway work zones, where multiple Knife River employees have been killed by distracted drivers.

Gray was installed as the 2017 president of Associated General Contractors’ Oregon-Columbia chapter at the group’s annual business meeting in Portland earlier this month.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

91��Ƶ: What’s your approach to management?

Brian Gray: My philosophy is this: building relationships is really the most important thing we build in our industry and at Knife River. I would say I built my career on that ability – whether it’s with a disgruntled employee or a neighbor that doesn’t necessarily want to have a rock pit or an asphalt plant next door to them, to customers, to our competitors.

I emphasize this strongly with our new supervisors and foremen. They’ve got to be technically good at their jobs, yeah, but they will excel at their jobs if they have the ability to build relationships with their co-workers and vendors and everybody else involved with the process.

91��Ƶ: In that case, how do you train emotional intelligence into your staff?

Gray: I’m a hands-on manager, so I like to watch the interactions between our managers and our team members out in the field. There has to be a level of respect. Former Sen. Frank Morse taught me that you have to treat everybody with integrity and lead by example with your work ethic.

Our industry is very competitive. We attract a lot of type A personalities. But I want people who operate without a big ego. They’re thinking about things with their head, but their ultimate decisions are coming from their heart.

91��Ƶ: I know you’re a big proponent of safety. How do you foster a fun workplace while still following OSHA guidelines to the letter of the law?

Gray: Some people think “fun” and their mind goes to hoses and water fights and stuff. To me, we’re serious – very serious – but there has to be a balance. In every situation we go into, there’s stress. But if you go into it with your head up and a can-do attitude, it’ll become contagious. We all get paid, but the job satisfaction comes from getting to that spot.

91��Ƶ: This could be a huge year for transportation policy in Oregon and nationally. As head of Knife River and president of AGC, how will you balance those interests?

Gray: There’s a direct benefit to Knife River by being involved in AGC, no doubt. It’s unique that I get to be a part of an association alongside a lot of our customers vs. being in an industry association where you’re in competition with each other.

But the stars lined up perfect for me to be involved in AGC during the 2017 legislative session. It’s going to have the transportation plan, as well as other fiscal challenges. As you know, Knife River was really involved in the campaign to defeat ballot Measure 97. It would have had a significant impact on our company, and, quite frankly, to the entire economy.

91��Ƶ: Which would you prefer our legislators focus on when drafting the transportation package – new construction or maintenance?

Gray: Once the roads and bridges start to crack, once water starts working its way into the sub-base, now, instead of doing just a resurfacing or maintenance project, you’re doing a complete rebuild. And here in Oregon, it’s crumbing; it’s all starting to fall apart. As a taxpayer, I’d rather spend a couple thousand dollars next year than ten thousand dollars in three or four years.

All of our neighbors are getting transportation plans, and we’re seeing some of our workforce migrate out of the state to follow the transportation dollars. We have a portable asphalt plant that we moved to Idaho because of that lack of asphalt paving that ODOT has scheduled for this year. I’m not proud of that, but we’ve got to keep our equipment and our people moving. ODOT is going to pave about one-half of what they paved in 2016.

91��Ƶ: The labor shortage – what are your unique ideas?

Gray: AGC spends about a quarter-million dollars on workforce development. We have over a dozen partners that we support when it comes to workforce development. So I would say we are invested. We are huge proponents of Measure 98 and getting CTE (career and technical education) in the classrooms. To magnify the success of our investment, I’d like to focus on a mentor-protégé project, and by building relationships with high school administrators and school officials and really engaging our members.

91��Ƶ: So that’s how you want to target millennials. What about women and minorities?

Gray: It’s back to building those relationships, and I’d say they need to be a little more tangible than in the past. To me there’s no better place to learn than a structured, successful business. With ODOT projects, I’d like to see some kind of credit or component go out to companies that already have a diverse workforce and training future owners of successful companies.

91��Ƶ: I know you’re from the business world, but politics is everywhere now. Architect groups have spoken out against President Donald Trump’s idea for a border wall. How do you feel?

Gray: I would say this: my focus is in Oregon. I don’t see how the building of the wall will directly impact our business in Oregon. We obviously strongly support Trump’s infrastructure plan, so I hope building the wall doesn’t pull funds that could otherwise be going to bridges and roads.

91��Ƶ: There’s also been a lot of talk about rolling back Obama-era regulations. What regulations should be kept in place?

Gray: I think a lot of the regulations that have been passed in the last eight years have been unnecessary and really unfounded, as far as good science and engineering. There has to be a balance focused around good principles, good science and good engineering. And not having this become political. Regulations should not be political. Unfortunately they have been in the past, and could become more so.

91��Ƶ: You have a ‘Vision Zero’-style attitude about highway work zone safety. What needs to be done next to get to zero fatalities?

Gray: The ideal for work zone for safety has a positive barrier between the workers and the traveling public – that’s the vision we have. But that’s not always possible.

Look at those guys over there in orange vests [points across the street to a crew of electrical workers]. They’re separated from traffic by a little orange cone. And you see the same thing going down I-5 at night – a little three-foot orange cone separating a speeding truck from a group of eight people working. It can just be disastrous.

My vision is that 10, 20 years from now, we would not believe what we’re seeing. It’d be like somebody not wearing their seatbelt today, or somebody having a baby seat in the front seat. We wouldn’t be able to believe our eyes, even though today it’s the norm.

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As building industry companies across the country celebrate Safety Week, Todd Coffman has an extra reason to kick up his heels. His team at EC Co., where he is vice president of construction, has been accident-free for two years.

That zero-incident streak isn’t a random occurrence, Coffman says. Instead, it’s something that he and his company have been working toward with focus and deliberation.

Coffman credits part of the accident-free record to his involvement with SafeBuild Alliance, a local group that promotes the idea that companies in the building industry can reach zero workplace incidents through collaboration.

In a world where companies are battling to attract and retain workers and find enough crew members to fill spots on job sites, SafeBuild’s collaborative approach is unusual. But when it comes to safety, it works, according to Coffman.

“When we’re in this group, we’re not competitors,” he said. “Keeping our workers safe is a common goal.”

SafeBuild strays from the path followed by other safety groups in other ways. The organization’s membership isn’t made up entirely of people with the word “safety” in their job titles. Instead, many of its members are general contractors and subcontractors. Similarly, the group’s programs and meetings rarely focus on presentations about safe equipment operating and fall arrest procedures.

“Our organization is more about culture change and not necessarily tactical efforts,” said Steve Clem, vice president of project planning services for Skanska USA Building whose involvement with SafeBuild goes back to 2012. “We do some of that, but our goal is to reach the (project) owners, the executives and presidents and influences of the firms we count in our membership in order to change their culture.”

Now in its 10th year, SafeBuild has had a clear mission from the start. However, the same couldn’t be said for the group’s name. It was known as the Greater Portland Construction Partnership until two years ago, when some rebranding took place.

“We wanted to make it clear what the mission was and also make it less Portland-centric,” said Clem, who helped lead the SafeBuild committee that organized events for this year’s Safety Week, including a morning safety meeting held last Friday at the World Forestry Center.

Clem also served as the group’s president in 2014, and it was during that time that SafeBuild launched a mentorship program in response to some minority- and women-owned firms and emerging small businesses that had requested help improving their safety programs.

Working with grant money provided by MDU Resources Group (the parent company of On Electric Group and Knife River), SafeBuild went to work.

“We were able to generate a lot of interest in the program and boost the diversity of our membership by close to 20 percent,” Clem said.

Also, a five-year goal was set to have firms that had gone through the program as mentees succeed with their own safety programs to a point where they could begin to mentor other MWESB firms. That mark was reached last year, just two years into the program, Clem said.

Rosa Martinez, president of PMG Asbestos Abatement, has been a mentee in the program for two years. While safety has always been important to Martinez and her staff, involvement in SafeBuild’s program has allowed PMG to take a safety program used at her mentor’s company and modify it to fit the smaller firm. The company also has adopted a program of stretches and exercises that employees run through each morning before starting a job.

Having those resources available, along with a mentor who Martinez can contact with questions about safety, has proven invaluable for PMG.

“Larger firms have one person dedicated to safety, (but) in small firms you don’t have that luxury,” Martinez said. “Being able to pick up the phone and know someone is going to answer, having that professional help available is a great benefit.”

But the benefits of the program swing both ways.

Coffman, who has been involved with the program since the beginning and currently is working with Inland Electric‘s Lori Benjamin, said he doesn’t view their relationships as mentor and mentee. EC Co. and Hillsboro-based Inland Electric have worked on jobs together, with Inland picking up scopes of the larger company’s work.

“She and I have become business partners,” Coffman said. “She’s smart about how she’s growing her company.”

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