Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by Granite Construction Incorporated (“we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company” or “Granite”) and are unaudited, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted. Further, the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect, in the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary to state fairly our financial position at September 30, 2017 and 2016 and the results of our operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The December 31, 2016 condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited consolidated financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. Our operations are typically affected more by weather conditions during the first and fourth quarters of our fiscal year which may alter our construction schedules and can create variability in our revenues and profitability. Therefore, the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. We prepared the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements on the same basis as our annual consolidated financial statements, except for the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, ASU No. 2016-05, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Effect of Derivative Contract Novations on Existing Hedge Accounting Relationships and ASU 2017-08, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20), Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities during the nine months ended September 30, 2017. ASU No. 2016-01 eliminated the requirement to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the consolidated balance sheet, which related to our marketable securities and debt (see Note 5). ASU No. 2016-05 had no impact and ASU No. 2017-08 had an immaterial impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements.

Basis of Presentation

The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by Granite Construction Incorporated (“we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company” or “Granite”) and are unaudited, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted. Further, the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect, in the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary to state fairly our financial position at September 30, 2017 and 2016 and the results of our operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The December 31, 2016 condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited consolidated financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP.

Our operations are typically affected more by weather conditions during the first and fourth quarters of our fiscal year which may alter our construction schedules and can create variability in our revenues and profitability. Therefore, the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

We prepared the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements on the same basis as our annual consolidated financial statements, except for the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, ASU No. 2016-05, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Effect of Derivative Contract Novations on Existing Hedge Accounting Relationships and ASU 2017-08, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20), Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities during the nine months ended September 30, 2017. ASU No. 2016-01 eliminated the requirement to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the consolidated balance sheet, which related to our marketable securities and debt (see Note 5). ASU No. 2016-05 had no impact and ASU No. 2017-08 had an immaterial impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements.