ALABAMA STATE EDITION
231
65
72 Florence
2
Huntsville
20 Decatur
72
565 59
43
A Supplement to:
231
431
31
5
Gadsden
78 59 Anniston
20
Birmingham Bessemer
82 Tuscaloosa
65 280
20 82 Auburn
80
85
Selma
Phenix City
Montgomery
82
May 2 2012 Vol. XXIIV • No. 9
65
231
43 84 431 331
84
84 52 31
45
Dothan
65
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
98
Mobile
10
Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Work on U.S. 84/SR 12 Continues By Mary Reed CEG CORRESPONDENT
The Alabama Department of Transportation’s (ALDOT) project on U.S. 84 (SR 12) in Coffee County to widen and provide additional lanes continues to move forward. U.S. 84 intersects with heavily traveled east-west routes in Alabama including U.S. 431, U.S. 231, U.S. 331 and I-65. “ALDOT continues making improvements to US 84 to provide motorists with a safer travel route across Alabama from neighboring states,” said an ALDOT spokesperson. The 300-day contract is 35 percent complete and will add additional lanes from west of Double Bridges Creek at New Brockton to the bypass at Enterprise, a town famous for its monument to the boll weevil, curse of cotton growers. The statue celebrates Enterprise’s economic recovery by switching to peanut farming after its cotton crop was devastated in the early 1900s. The statue, depicting a woman in classical garments holding a larger than life boll weevil over her head, is celebrated not only as a memorial of thriving as a result of overcoming adversity, but also as the sole world monument to an agricultural pest. The route is signed and designated El Camino East/West Corridor, forming part of a highway stretching 1,729 mi. across five states from Brunswick, Ga., to El Paso, Tex. One of the early primary routes from the Atlantic to the present Texas-Mexico border, Spanish settlers called it El Camino Real or The King’s Highway. The Alabama stretch of this highway was designated El Camino by the state legislature in
(L-R): Caterpillar’s Michel Bastin talks to David Strain, Buddy Glisson and Stephen Strain, Strain Asphalt and Paving, Woodland, Ala., about the new Cat 938K wheel loader.
Thompson Tractor Hosts Demo Day The 300-day contract is 35 percent complete and will add additional lanes from west of Double Bridges Creek at New Brockton to the bypass at Enterprise, a town famous for its monument to the boll weevil, curse of cotton growers.
2004. Work is ongoing on the corridor. Georgia has now completed 91 percent of its portion, Louisiana 15 percent, and Texas 73 percent, while Mississippi has completed its segment. Alabama has completed 52 percent of its 234.70 mi. (377.71 km) of the El Camino Corridor. Montgomery, Ala.-based McInnis Construction LLC, is prime contractor for the $11.4 million Coffee County project, which is funded by ALDOT. The contract was awarded in May 2011 and work began that summer, with a completion date of fall 2012. The job includes grading, widening, drainage and partial base and pave work in addition to construction of the extra lanes. “We are self-performing all clearing and grubbing, removal of items, grading work, roadbed base work, select erosion control and storm
drain installation,” said Timothy McInnis II, vice president of the company. McInnis Construction, which on average has 12 employees and two superintendents working onsite, is fielding a large fleet of John Deere equipment for the job, including 9520 tractors pulling double John Deere pans. Other equipment from John Deere includes 6430 tractors; 200 and 270 excavators; 700J and 650 dozers and articulated dump trucks. In addition, the contractor is utilizing a Volvo 330 excavator and articulated dump trucks from the same manufacturer, as well as a Caterpillar 140M motorgrader and Bomag rollers. Since 2010 McInnis Construction has been utilizing biodiesel manufactured by SouthernEco LLC, which produces 5,000 to 8,000 gallons a see ALDOT page 2
C
alled “Dega Demo Day,” Thompson Tractor hosted an event at Talladega Superspeedway on April 4 to showcase Caterpillar’s newest Tier IV BCP products. It was a picture perfect day for attendees to view and/or demo the new K-Series wheel loaders, F-Series backhoes, K2-Series dozers, E-Series mini-excavators, DSeries CTL’s and MTL’s and B3-Series skid steer loaders. Guests saw an incredible array of Cat machine displays in the infield of Talladega Superspeedway and then enjoyed a see THOMPSON page 6
The Amlong family (L-R), Stephanie, Bryan, Ivey and Wyatt, Amsher General Contractors, Enterprise, Ala., talk to their south Alabama representative, Walt Hewett, Thompson Tractor-Dothan, Ala.