Heavy Construction Under Davis-Bacon
Civil engineering structures and infrastructure not falling under Building or Highway.
Davis-Bacon "heavy" is the catch-all classification for civil-engineering projects that are not buildings, highways, or residential structures.
✓ Typically classified as Heavy Construction
- Dams, levees, flood-control structures
- Water and wastewater treatment plants
- Sewer and water lines (large-diameter and trunk mains)
- Power transmission and distribution lines
- Pipelines (gas, oil, water)
- Tunnels (vehicular, rail, and utility)
- Bridges carrying rail or marine traffic
- Subway and rail line construction
- Marine work (piers, docks, dredging)
- Industrial facility site work, foundations for heavy equipment
✗ Usually classified differently
- Sheltered enclosed structures (→ Building)
- Roads and street-level paving (→ Highway)
- Single-family or low-rise residential (→ Residential)
Edge cases & how to decide
Heavy is used by elimination — if a project is clearly not Building, Highway, or Residential, it falls to Heavy. When a project mixes Heavy and Building scope (e.g., a treatment plant with an attached control building), the WD selection follows the dollar-value-dominant component, or the contracting officer may obtain separate WDs for each component. DOL guidance ("DBA/DBRA Compliance Principles") covers many of the recurring borderline cases.
Typical trades on Heavy Construction WDs
Power equipment operators (heavy classifications including draglines, cranes, dozers), pile drivers, laborers (incl. sandhogs in tunnel work), ironworkers, divers (marine work), pipefitters, electricians, welders.
Find a Heavy wage determination
Heavy WDs are published per county. Browse by state to find rates for your project location.
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