Revisions in Estimates - Summary of Impact of Revisions in Estimates to Gross Profit (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2023 USD ($) project $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2022 USD ($) project $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2023 USD ($) project $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2022 USD ($) project $ / shares
Change in Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Range of change in gross profit from each project, net	$ 166,643	$ 115,055	$ 302,088	$ 272,713
Changes to project profitability, net	79,919	57,488	29,856	66,991
Changes to net income (loss)	57,496	$ 65,198	7,878	$ 59,681
Changes to net income (loss) attributable to Granite Construction Incorporated	$ 57,624		$ 17,601
Net income per share, diluted (USD per share) | $ / shares	$ 1.13	$ 1.36	$ 0.40	$ 1.25
Minimum
Change in Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Range of change in gross profit from each project, net				$ 5,700
Maximum
Change in Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Range of change in gross profit from each project, net				$ 21,200
Revisions in Estimates, Increase
Change in Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Number of projects with estimate changes | project	1	1	1	0
Range of change in gross profit from each project, net			$ 5,000
Changes to project profitability, net	$ 8,600	$ 6,600	8,100	$ 0
Changes to net income (loss)	6,500	5,100	6,100	0
Amounts attributable to non-controlling interests	0	0	3,300	0
Changes to net income (loss) attributable to Granite Construction Incorporated	$ 6,500	$ 5,100	$ 2,800	$ 0
Net income per share, diluted (USD per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.12	$ 0.10	$ 0.06	$ 0
Revisions in Estimates, Decrease
Change in Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Number of projects with estimate changes | project	1	1	3	6
Range of change in gross profit from each project, net	$ 8,400	$ 15,200	$ 5,000
Changes to project profitability, net	8,400	15,200	51,100	$ 64,600
Changes to net income (loss)	6,300	11,700	38,300	49,800
Amounts attributable to non-controlling interests	4,200	7,600	20,200	13,200
Changes to net income (loss) attributable to Granite Construction Incorporated	$ 2,100	$ 4,100	$ 18,100	$ 36,600
Net income per share, diluted (USD per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.04	$ 0.08	$ 0.41	$ 0.70
Revisions in Estimates, Decrease | Minimum
Change in Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Range of change in gross profit from each project, net			$ 5,300
Revisions in Estimates, Decrease | Maximum
Change in Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Range of change in gross profit from each project, net			$ 40,500