CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents ($61,276 and $38,800 related to consolidated construction joint ventures (“CCJV”))	$ 255,961	$ 229,121
Short-term marketable securities	25,504us-gaap_MarketableSecuritiesCurrent	49,968us-gaap_MarketableSecuritiesCurrent
Receivables, net ($36,781 and $38,372 related to CCJVs)	310,934	313,598
Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings	36,411	33,306
Inventories	68,920us-gaap_InventoryNet	62,474us-gaap_InventoryNet
Real estate held for development and sale	11,609	12,478
Deferred income taxes	53,231us-gaap_DeferredTaxAssetsNetCurrent	55,874us-gaap_DeferredTaxAssetsNetCurrent
Equity in construction joint ventures	184,575	162,673
Other current assets	23,033us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent	30,711us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent
Total current assets	970,178us-gaap_AssetsCurrent	950,203us-gaap_AssetsCurrent
Property and equipment, net ($11,969 and $22,216 related to CCJVs)	409,653us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet	436,859us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet
Long-term marketable securities	76,563us-gaap_MarketableSecuritiesNoncurrent	67,234us-gaap_MarketableSecuritiesNoncurrent
Investments in affiliates	32,361	32,480
Goodwill	53,799us-gaap_Goodwill	53,799us-gaap_Goodwill
Other noncurrent assets	77,940us-gaap_OtherAssetsNoncurrent	76,580us-gaap_OtherAssetsNoncurrent
Total assets	1,620,494us-gaap_Assets	1,617,155us-gaap_Assets
Current liabilities
Current maturities of long-term debt	21us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent	21us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent
Current maturities of non-recourse debt	1,226gva_NonRecourseDebtCurrentMaturities	1,226gva_NonRecourseDebtCurrentMaturities
Accounts payable ($18,009 and $16,937 related to CCJVs)	151,935us-gaap_AccountsPayableCurrent	160,706us-gaap_AccountsPayableCurrent
Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings ($32,830 and $60,185 related to CCJVs)	108,992us-gaap_BillingsInExcessOfCost	138,375us-gaap_BillingsInExcessOfCost
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities ($2,714 and $11,299 related to CCJVs)	200,652	197,242
Total current liabilities	462,826us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent	497,570us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent
Long-term debt	270,105us-gaap_LongTermDebtNoncurrent	270,127us-gaap_LongTermDebtNoncurrent
Long-term non-recourse debt	5,516gva_NonRecourseDebtNoncurrent	6,741gva_NonRecourseDebtNoncurrent
Other long-term liabilities	44,495us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent	48,580us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent
Deferred income taxes	20,446	7,793
Commitments and contingencies
Equity
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value, authorized 3,000,000 shares, none outstanding	0us-gaap_PreferredStockValueOutstanding	0us-gaap_PreferredStockValueOutstanding
Common stock, $0.01 par value, authorized 150,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 39,186,386 shares as of December 31, 2014 and 38,917,728 shares as of December 31, 2013	392us-gaap_CommonStockValue	389us-gaap_CommonStockValue
Additional paid-in capital	134,177	126,449
Retained earnings	659,816	655,102
Total Granite Construction Incorporated shareholders’ equity	794,385us-gaap_StockholdersEquity	781,940us-gaap_StockholdersEquity
Non-controlling interests	22,721us-gaap_MinorityInterest	4,404us-gaap_MinorityInterest
Total equity	817,106	786,344
Total liabilities and equity	$ 1,620,494	$ 1,617,155

Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of obligations incurred and payable, pertaining to costs that are statutory in nature, are incurred on contractual obligations, or accumulate over time and for which invoices have not yet been received or will not be rendered. Examples include taxes, interest, rent and utilities. Used to reflect the current portion of the liabilities (due within one year or within the normal operating cycle if longer), combined with the aggregate carrying amount, as of the balance sheet date, of current obligations not separately disclosed in the balance sheet due to materiality considerations. Current liabilities are expected to be paid within one year (or the normal operating cycle, if longer).

No definition available.