LINCOLN — Construction of a privately funded, $85 million engineering building will help the state dig its way out of a workforce hole, university and business leaders said Monday. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering announced its plan to erect the new building, called Kiewit Hall, at 17th and Vine Streets.

The facility, boosted by a $20 million donation from Omaha construction giant Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc., is one of several elements in the College of Engineering’s plan to supply more highly skilled technical workers to the state.

“Kiewit Hall will attract the best students to the University of Nebraska,” UNL Engineering Dean Lance Pérez said at a press conference and celebration concerning the announcement.