Prevailing Wage Rates Heavy Construction_2026.pdf

“Heavy construction projects include, but are not limited to, those projects that are not properly classified as either ‘building construction’, or ‘highway construction.’

Heavy construction projects include, but are not limited to, antenna towers, bridges (major bridges designed for commercial navigation), breakwaters, caissons (other than building or highway), canals, channels, channel cut-offs, chemical complexes or facilities (other than buildings), cofferdams, coke ovens, dams, demolition (not incidental to construction), dikes, docks, drainage projects, dredging projects, electrification projects (outdoor), fish hatcheries, flood control projects, industrial incinerators (other than building), irrigation projects, jetties, kilns, land drainage (not incidental to other construction), land leveling (not incidental to other construction), land reclamation, levees, locks and waterways, oil refineries (other than buildings), pipe lines, ponds, pumping stations (prefabricated drop-in units – not buildings), railroad construction, reservoirs, revetments, sewage collection and disposal lines, sewers (sanitary, storm, etc.), shoreline maintenance, ski tows, storage tanks, swimming pools (outdoor), subways (other than buildings), tipples, tunnels, unsheltered piers and wharves, viaducts (other than highway), water mains, waterway construction, water supply lines (not incidental to building), water and sewage treatment plants (other than buildings) and wells.”

“…a contract for construction services let by the state, county, municipality, school district, or political subdivision or for nonconstruction services let by the state, county, municipality, or political subdivision in which the total cost of the contract is in excess of $25,000...”

“The wage rates applicable to a particular public works project are those in effect at the time the bid specifications are advertised.”

“(1) Any public works contract that by the terms of the original contract calls for more than 30 months to fully perform must include a provision to adjust, as provided in subsection (2), the standard prevailing rate of wages to be paid to the workers performing the contract.

(2) The standard prevailing rate of wages paid to workers under a contract subject to this section must be adjusted 12 months after the date of the award of the public works contract. The amount of the adjustment must be a 3% increase. The adjustment must be made and applied every 12 months for the term of the contract.

(3) Any increase in the standard rate of prevailing wages for workers under this section is the sole responsibility of the contractor and any subcontractors and not the contracting agency.”

“(1) To fulfill the obligation...a contractor or subcontractor may:

(a) pay the amount of fringe benefits and the basic hourly rate of pay that is part of the standard prevailing rate of wages directly to the worker or employee in cash;

(b) make an irrevocable contribution to a trustee or a third person pursuant to a fringe benefit fund, plan, or program that meets the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or that is a bona fide program approved by the U. S. department of labor; or

(c) make payments using any combination of methods set forth in subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) so that the aggregate of payments and contributions is not less than the standard prevailing rate of wages, including fringe benefits and travel allowances, applicable to the district for the particular type of work being performed.

(2) The fringe benefit fund, plan, or program described in subsection (1)(b) must provide benefits to workers or employees for health care, pensions on retirement or death, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance, or bona fide programs that meet the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or that are approved by the U. S. department of labor.”

“...the courthouse in the city from the following list which is closest to the center of the job: Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Miles City, Missoula and Sidney.”

“...an amount added to the base pay; the combined sum then becomes the new base wage rate to be paid for all hours worked on the project. Zone pay must be determined by measuring the road miles one way over the shortest practical maintained route from the dispatch city to the center of the job.”

“‘Travel pay,’ also referred to as ‘travel allowance,’ is and must be paid for travel both to and from the job site, except those with special provisions listed under the classification. The rate is determined by measuring the road miles one direction over the shortest practical maintained route from the dispatch city or the employee's home, whichever is closer, to the center of the job.”

“‘Per diem’ typically covers costs associated with board and lodging expenses. Per diem is paid when an employee is required to work at a location outside the daily commuting distance and is required to stay at that location overnight or longer.”

“…The full amount of any applicable fringe benefits must be paid to the apprentice while the apprentice is working on the public works contract.”

“…performing work or providing construction services under public works contracts, as provided in this part, shall post in a prominent and accessible site on the project or staging area, not later than the first day of work and continuing for the entire duration of the project, a legible statement of all wages and fringe benefits to be paid to the employees.”

“(1) The contracting agency shall determine, based on the preponderance of labor hours to be worked, whether the public works construction services project is classified as a highway construction project, a heavy construction project, or a building construction project.

(2) Once the project has been classified, employees in each trade classification who are working on that project must be paid at the rate for that project classification”