(MONEY Magazine) – With America's highways and bridges crumbling and Kuwait's infrastructure in a shambles, U.S. construction giants are poised to profit hugely from a multibillion-dollar rebuilding boom. Among those likely to thrive, analysts say, is Morrison Knudsen (NYSE), one of the world's largest contractors, with annual revenues of $2 billion. The company boasts a record $3.9 billion backlog of work, up 50% from 1989. ''Prospects have never looked better,'' says Arnold Schmeidler, president of his own investment firm in New York City. In the U.S., for example, Morrison Knudsen signed a contract in late January for a $1.3 billion joint venture with Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas to build more than 70 miles of tunnels for the Superconducting Super Collider, a particle accelerator near Dallas that will conduct advanced research in physics. International projects now account for about 15% of the company's backlog, up from almost nil in 1989. Analyst John Rogers at Ragen MacKenzie in Seattle says the Middle East is an especially promising area for Morrison Knudsen. In March, the company signed a joint venture agreement with Alghanim Industries, the largest privately held company in Kuwait, to bid on billions of dollars of potential work rebuilding roads, tunnels and bridges. Schmeidler expects the company's total backlog to top $5 billion within 18 months, which he believes could push the price, recently $57, to nearly $80. Other analysts forecast a more modest price increase to $70 within a year.

BOX: MORRISON KNUDSEN CORPORATION

Recent price $57 52-week range $61 to $30

Est. earnings per share P/E ratio 1991 $3.50 16.3 1992 $3.80 15.0