"It's definitely harder because there's way less work,” says Steve Haas.

Haas Sons, Inc. out of Thorp says it's the worst year his company's seen since 1981.

"Just like every other contractor we depend on municipal work especially now because major development is pretty much non-existent,” says Haas.

Haas Sons has submitted the lowest bids on recent street construction projects in Chippewa Falls and in Altoona.

"We were very pleased with the bids as they came in. The lowest bid was about 1.7 million from Haas sons,” says Rick Rubenzer, Chief Engineer for the City of Chippewa Falls.

Rubenzer says that's $600,000 lower than the engineer's estimate. In Altoona, the bid came in $100,000 less.

"Definitely I believe the economy has had the impact on the contractors,” says Dave Walter, Chief Engineer of the City of Altoona.

The cities say they're catching a financial break.

"We're facing about a $576,000 budget deficit,” says Rubenzer.

The contractors say it's difficult because they aren't getting as good of a price for the same amount of work.

"The bids get us work. It don't necessarily mean it's the best bid,” says Haas.

Neither engineers nor contractors see any upturn in sight.

"I’m sure this will continue for awhile until our nation's economy does improve," says Walter.

Crews say they'll keep on trucking.

"We'll make it work,” says Haas. “We always do.”

The City of Chippewa Falls says it's also seen an increase in the number of contractors bidding—nearly doubling on some projects—which it says means more people are looking for work.