New England 25, December 7, 2022

Waterbury, Conn., Transformation Continues With Mixmaster Project

By Ken Liebeskind CEG CORRESPONDENT

The husband-and-wife team of Mark and Gina Gale at M. Gale Builders (East Middlebury, Vt.) have found years of success building distinct residential homes throughout the state with a focus on honesty, integrity and “old-fashioned business values.”

“People come to M. Gale Builders because they know the

work and they know we’re going to follow through and do everything we say we’re going to do,” Gina Gale said. One way they maintain this

of

OPRROOVVEN U

WITH UPTI

SENNEBOGEN, in kee philosophy to maxim created UPTIME Kits

For more in

eping with their mize uptime, has Whether you are a service technician i road, these kits have need for every service and PM task in one p created to save you t Managing hundreds o parts, from belts and and special tools bec single part number to 2-6351 ) 29 (800 ongmead ast L E oa er R 1 Shak 25 yle t.ww our to commitment our

n-house or on the everything you e, maintenance place. They were ime and money. of related service d nuts to O-Rings omes easy with a o order and stock w bout

C (800 Berli 1980 28 A 010 , M ow d om omers

and ready to built to match your m and 4473 52 ) 3 0 7 in, CT 0603 urnpike 0 Berlin T sennebogeen-na.com/beyond-the--machine

the best thing is in requipment.c cust

th s that

go,

Array of Construction Projects Under Way Across Conn.

Wherever you go in Connecticut, a new building is going up, a road is being reconfigured and airports are being expanded. Major projects are happening all around the state.

While the construction may be a burden to residents and travelers now, when it is complete, officials hope people can more quickly go where they need to be, find parking easier and enjoy the region a little more.

Here is a look at some of the major development projects impacting the state and when they should be completed, according to CT Insider:

Bradley Airport Upgrades

Bradley International Airport, north of Hartford, completed its $210 million ground transportation center in July and already has its sights set on other projects. At the same time, the airport received a $20 million federal grant that will go toward a larger $185 million redevelopment of Bradley’s facilities. That project is expected to take about two years, officials said last summer.

The money will be used to increase the capacity of the ticket counter area and improve baggage handling throughout the airport. The centerpiece of the effort will be moving the baggage security screening machines from the area next to the ticket counters to an 80,000-sq.-ft., multi-level addition on the rear of the terminal building, according to Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority.

CT Insider in Norwalk reported the grant will also allow the airport to meet certain requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act and enhance other requirements that have already been met.

Charter Oak Bridge

The Charter Oak Bridge project combines two initiatives that Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) officials have said will help reduce congestion and improve safety on Interstate 91 in Hartford County.

The project, costing about $240 million, is nearing its end. The work included moving an exit ramp on I-91 to provide an extra lane and ease safety concerns from merging traffic. The work started in 2019, and included resurfacing lanes in the area, updating signage and installing more drainage.

In addition, the main I-91 roadway was improved, with a stretch from exits 27 to 29 getting an extra lane to ease traffic congestion.

Downtown North/DunkinÊ Donuts Park

Officials and developers in Hartford have been trying to revitalize the area near Dunkin’ Donuts Park for years, but the situation has been held up by roadblocks and

The Charter Oak Bridge project combines two initiatives that Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) officials have said will help reduce congestion and improve safety on Interstate 91 in Hartford County.

Pictured is an impact attenuator system, which was installed for impact safety.

legal issues. The home of the Hartford Yard Goats minor league baseball team opened in 2017, but an ongoing lawsuit involving the original developer of the baseball stadium — who was later fired and replaced — threatens to keep the situation in limbo.

A new apartment building, The Pennant at North Crossing, opened this year directly across from the stadium, and developers hope to break ground on similar projects in the area soon, CT Insider noted. An unrelated project just blocks away to create a mixed-use building on undeveloped property is awaiting city approval, with its developers hopeful they can break ground in 2023.

Located between downtown and the city’s North End, officials hope the development of the North Crossing area can be part of a larger revitalization of the city.

Foxwoods Casino Expansion

The largest resort casino in the Northeast is adding more space for its 30th anniversary. This month, Foxwoods Casino will open its 80,000-sq.-ft. Rainmaker Expo Center for trade shows and sporting events.

The resort also will begin construction on an $85 million project to add 50,000 sq. ft. of gaming space and a 13,000-sq.-ft. restaurant to the Ledyard, Conn., entertainment facility.

Officials announced in September that the new casino is set to open next summer in Foxwoods’ Grand Ballroom. It will include

Foxwoods Casino will begin construction on an $85 million project to add 50,000 sq. ft. of gaming space and a 13,000-sq.-ft. restaurant to the Ledyard, Conn., entertainment facility.

a celebrity chef-owned restaurant and a gaming space with table games, slot machines and a high limit slot machine.

Foxwoods also plans to build an indoor water park and hotel in partnership with Great Wolf Lodge, the casino said last winter. The facility will open in 2024 adjacent to the casino.

Middletown Riverfront Development

A massive, 10-year primary plan of riverfront redevelopment, now in its initial stages, recently received a $12 million infusion from the state, according to CT Insider.

Photo courtesy of Bradleyairport.com

Bradley International Airport, north of Hartford, completed its $210 million ground transportation center in July.

Photo courtesy of I-91 Charter Oak Bridge Project website

Photo courtesy of JCJ Architecture

Rendering courtesy of Middletownct.gov The Center Street Pedestrian Bridge is one facet of a massive, 10-year primary plan of riverfront redevelopment.

DRACUT 978-454-3320 61 Silva Lane Dracut, MA 01826

BROCKTO 508-484-55 196 Manley Brockton, M

www.equipmenteast.com

ON 567 y St. MA 02301

BOW 603-410-5540 1474 Rte 3A Bow, NH 03304

Tufts University Plans On Building New Residence Hall

Tufts University, a prestigious college a few miles north of downtown Boston within the towns of Medford and Somerville, Mass., has begun planning for construction of an undergraduate residence hall for juniors and seniors on the campus.

The Boston Avenue building is expected to open in fall 2025, featuring apartment-style units and public access to its ground-floor retail space.

Tufts Now, the university’s online news service, reported Nov. 14 that the new facility will offer easy access to key undergraduate destinations, including the Tisch Sports and Fitness Center, the school’s Joyce Cummings Center and Academic Quad.

The residential hall also is to be built across the street from the new Medford/Tufts Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) station, part of the Green Line Extension project currently nearing completion. The dormitory building will include an outdoor plaza and space for a firstfloor retail operation, such as a café or restaurant, open to students and the public alike.

“In addition to building a beautiful, efficient new residence hall, we are taking this opportunity to energize the Boston Avenue streetscape,” explained Rocco DiRico, executive director of government and community relations at Tufts. “Our objective is to create an inviting place on campus, not just for our students, but also for our neighbors who may be catching a train into Boston, and for our visitors who may be seeing Tufts for the first time.”

He added that building the new hall will accomplish several shared goals.

“For years, Medford and Somerville have asked us to create more high-density oncampus housing to open up off-campus housing for local families,” DiRico said. “We are doing that here by planning a residence hall for juniors and seniors who would otherwise have to rent apartments off campus.”

Currently, Tufts only guarantees campus housing for first year and sophomore students.

The new project is not expected to increase the number of student-owned cars on campus, DiRico told Tufts Now.

“The majority of our on-campus students don’t bring cars anyway, and with the arrival of the [transit station], we expect that the students in this new hall will love the convenience of the Green Line, located right across the street from where they live.”

Tufts also is in discussion with the bike share system, BlueBikes, to sponsor two

new stations within walking distance of the new residence hall, he added, and the MBTA will be making sidewalk, crosswalk and other pedestrian-related improvements once the Medford/Tufts station is finished.

Dormitory Designed to Reduce Its Carbon Use

Ruth Bennett, senior director of capital programs at Tufts, explained that the planned residential hall is part of the university’s commitment to decarbonize the campus and build energy-efficient buildings. The structure will be designed and constructed to a low energy use intensity target and will connect to the college’s highly efficient central energy plant for utilities, she added.

The building also will be solar-ready, Bennett said, meaning all the conduits and meters needed for a solar array will be installed during construction. Tufts will continue its work with solar developers to put solar panels on the roofs of as many buildings as possible, including the new residence hall.

It is part of Tufts’ ongoing investment in new and improved infrastructure that advances the university’s sustainability goals, including reaching carbon neutrality on the Medford/Somerville campus by 2050, she noted.

William Rawn Associates, a Boston archi-

tectural firm, is the design team behind the new building. The company has many other university residence halls in its portfolio, including buildings at Brown, Brandeis and Duke, as well as the Sophia Gordon Hall at Tufts.

The project’s construction manager is DPR Construction, a global company with offices in Boston.

Initiative Has Grown Student Housing at Tufts

The new Boston Avenue residence hall grows out of a Tufts strategic plan to make significant capital improvements on its campus. In April 2021, the university completed a $250 million bond offering and earmarked a substantial portion of those monies for student housing.

The last time Tufts built a new on-campus dorm was in 2006. The opening of Sophia Gordon Hall, at 15 Talbot Ave., made 124 beds available for juniors and seniors. Apartment-style housing also can be found in the school’s Latin Way and Hillsides dormitories, in addition to special-interest housing and rooms in the other residence halls at Tufts.

Over the past five years, the university has made considerable progress toward expanded on-campus housing, adding a total of 485

beds for undergraduates, DiRico told Tufts Now.

Those juniors and seniors preferring apartment-style units have found an appealing choice for on-campus housing in a recent initiative known as CoHo (short for Community Housing). For that project, Tufts renovated 13 wood-frame houses, and built one new fully electric, highly sustainable home, to create living space for 139 students.

Tufts also plans to renovate two more houses that will expand CoHo capacity by next fall.

At 29 Sawyer Ave., in Somerville, the university is upgrading another residence hall that currently is home to students. When that work is complete, the building will house 26 third-and fourth-year students.

“Being able to have more juniors and seniors living on campus creates a more robust residential community,” said Camille Lizarríbar, the university’s dean of student affairs. “It increases opportunities for students at different stages of their Tufts experience to learn from and engage with each other, to forge close friendships, and to share memories that last a lifetime.”

Construction this past summer also created housing for 150 first-year students in the area known as the Court at Professors Row. In addition, 24 students moved into a renovated former fraternity house this fall at 114 Professors Row.

(William Rawn Associates photo)

Tufts plans to construct a residence hall for juniors and seniors along Boston Avenue.

MGH Begins of New Clinical Care Building Construction

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) broke ground in late October on a multi-year construction project for a modern clinical care facility along Cambridge Street in Boston, enabling the medical center to add to its growth of services and increase MGH’s capacity.

The new facility will be home to the Mass General Cancer Center and the Corrigan Minehan Heart Center, according to a report by the Beacon Hill Times. Two inpatient towers will house 482 single-bed inpatient rooms, offering a comfortable and holistic healing environment for patients and families.

Encompassing more than 1.5 million sq. ft., the new medical facility will function entirely within the MGH campus. Larger operating, interventional and procedural rooms, along with imaging facilities, infusion rooms, exam rooms and support space for pharmacy and dietary services also will operate within the new facility.

In addition, plans call for six levels of underground parking, accommodating 864 vehicles for patients and families, to replace the outdated Parkman Garage. The hospital is also adding parking spaces for 566 bicycles, and green roof terraces will be included.

“This building will be [one of] the most important Mass General constructs in our history — perhaps only second to our original Bulfinch building dating back to 1811,” David F. M. Brown, president of MGH, said in a hospital press release. “It will create the environment our staff needs, and our patients deserve, [and] will allow us to continue to excel across our four missions — caring for our patients with clinical excellence, improving the health of the communities we serve, training the next generation of healthcare leaders, and changing the healthcare of the future through discovery and innovation.”

Brown added that the hospital’s continued growth is due to its donors, who, he said, “have strengthened our infrastructure in the past and we count on them to continue to serve as the engine behind our evolution [and] ability to transform the health of our

David F. M. Brown Massachusetts General Hospital

patients now, and for the next 200 years.”

The clinical care facility’s construction is expected to last a total of seven years, according to MGH, and is slated to open in phases between 2027 and 2030.

New Building to Utilize 21st Century Techniques

The Times reported that the sustainable clinical care structure at MGH will almost entirely be powered using renewable electricity, reflecting a commitment to significantly reducing the hospital’s carbon footprint. Built to withstand major flooding and high winds, the building will be the medical center’s most resilient, serving its most vulnerable patients by supplying its own energy and systems for up to 96 hours during natural or manmade disasters.

“This new building is, first and foremost, about our patients and providing them with the type of care experience they deserve,” explained Anne Klibanski, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham, a network of area hospitals that includes MGH.

“There is a pressing need in healthcare for innovative facilities that are forward-looking, collaborative and patient centered, offering better treatment and hope to patients with the most challenging conditions. Once complete, we will be able to offer the world-class care that Mass General Brigham is known for to more patients in a supportive, personalized, and efficient setting that is second to none.”

The new MGH building also has triggered a major financial investment by the hospital for some of the most treasured community organization programs in the West End and Beacon Hill — including the West End Museum, the Museum of African American History, the Old West Church and the Esplanade Association, the Times reported.

“This new facility ushers in the next generation of health care, one which seamlessly integrates technological innovation, patientcentered wellness, environmental sustainability and clinical excellence under the same roof,” said Jonathan Kraft, chair of MGH’s board of trustees, in the MGH press release.

“This building will be [one of] the most important Mass General constructs in our history…”

Bradley International Airport Work Highlights Conn. Projects

Middletown officials, though, plan to continue pursuing other grants. The money will be instrumental in allowing the cleanup and demolition of a trio of properties along the Connecticut River that will help kick off the city’s Return to the Riverbend project.

The overall goal of the effort, created by Cooper Robertson of New York, is to reconnect Middletown with its riverfront — something lost when Connecticut Route 9 was built — by creating vibrant arts and culture, entertainment, retail, market-rate housing, public spaces, and, most notably, a pedestrian bridge over the roadway.

Already, there are several developments under way or in the planning stages on and right off Main Street to build hundreds of apartments, and some business space downtown, by refurbishing and repurposing older facilities.

• The latest, which involves a three-parcel piece of land behind the police station, is being conducted by Hartfordbased Spectra Construction & Development in conjunction with Middletown city officials.

• Affordable housing also is elemental to the plan.

• An essential component is the rebuilding of Middletown’s parking arcade, which significantly cut into available spots downtown, and affected economic activity.

• One development includes the creation of a Latin-style restaurant, gourmet grocery and more on Main Street; another is turning an old skating rink into a multi-use complex.

struction was originally slated to conclude this year, but is now planned to finish in June 2023.

State transportation officials also decided to build a temporary bypass in the area while construction continues.

“Deck patching, deck end reconstruction, waterproofing membrane installation, paving, joint installation, steel repairs and strengthening, painting and substructure repairs, and the installation of sign support structures are all in progress on both sides of I-84 through the Mixmaster,” according to CTDOT.

Connecticut Route 34 in Derby

A large expansion project on Conn. 34 through Derby is finally under way after more than a decade of delays, CT Insider

each one is being used for traffic in both directions while work is done on the other crossing. Workers finished the first half of the project in early 2022 and reopened the westbound bridge before making improvements to the eastbound side.

The total cost of the reconstruction is approximately $53 million, according to CTDOT.

Stamford Train Station Parking Garage

The state highway runs southeast from I-84 in Newtown to I-95 in New Haven, but it also functions as Derby’s Main Street, where it narrows from four lanes to two through downtown and its multiple stop lights.

When Conn. 9 was built, several streets near the river were either eliminated or neighborhoods were cut off, forcing residents to navigate a maze of confusing streets to get downtown, over the bridge to Portland, and to the highways.

The concept of a pedestrian bridge from near the police station, on Main Street, with people walking over Conn. 9 to Harbor Park on the Connecticut River, where lots of economic activity will be generated, is a symbol of the long-lost connection coming back to Middletown.

Connecticut Route 8/I-84 Mixmaster in Waterbury

An effort to rework the Conn. 8 and Interstate 84 interchange in Waterbury also is under way and will provide a 25-year service life to roads and bridges connecting the two roadways, including full replacements for some bypasses and decks.

With an expected cost of $212 million, according to the CTDOT website, the con-

reported. The state highway runs southeast from I-84 in Newtown to I-95 in New Haven, but it also functions as Derby’s Main Street, where it narrows from four lanes to two through downtown and its multiple stop lights.

The construction is meant to double the number of traffic lanes in Derby, along with adding angle parking on both sides of the street as well as pedestrian access. To carry out the work, crews demolished the more decrepit buildings that lined Main Street.

Rochambeau Bridge

The reconstruction of the Rochambeau Bridge began in June 2020 and is set to be completed by the end of 2023.

The work involves rehabbing the two spans that make up the bridge and carry I-84 across the Housatonic River. The structures connect the two towns of Southbury and Newtown.

Since there are a pair of existing bridges,

The new Stamford Transportation Center parking garage will serve one of the state’s busiest train stations.

City and state leaders broke ground on the $81.7 million, 928-spot edifice in October 2021 to much fanfare. The car depot is meant to replace a crumbling garage on Station Place, directly across from the station.

Plans for the new building on Washington Boulevard include improvements to the roads surrounding the garage — dedicated lanes for buses, rideshares and taxis — and direct pedestrian connection to Track 5 of the train station where the Metro-North Railroad takes passengers down to Grand Central Station in New York.

The garage is expected to be finished by next summer, according to CT Insider.

Interstate 84 in Hartford

Hartford County residents have wanted to reimagine I-84 and I-91 for years, but most proposed projects have not gotten off the ground. At issue: I-84 effectively takes a massive chunk out of downtown Hartford, dividing the area from the North End.

U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Hartford, has

proposed a renovation that would put the two highways in underground tunnels and allow the city to reclaim the space taken up by the massive roadways. But that project has not seen major progress.

Another potential project, to build a new bridge to move the path of I-84, also has not gained momentum.

In 2021, yet another group proposed a similar project as part of Hartford 400, a series of development initiatives to complete as the city nears its 400th anniversary in 2035. But CT Insider found that that project is still in the “idea” phase, according to the Hartford 400 website.

Photo courtesy of mixmaster-rehab.com

An effort to rework the Conn. 8 and Interstate 84 interchange in Waterbury also is under way and will provide a 25-year service life to roads and bridges connecting the two roadways, including full replacements for some bypasses and decks.

Rendering courtesy of nvcogct.gov

Photo courtesy of rochambeaubridge.com The reconstruction of the Rochambeau Bridge involves rehabbing the two spans that make up the bridge and carry I-84 across the Housatonic River.

Walsh Construction Rehabilitates Conn.’s Aging Mixmaster

complicated endeavor.”

While the Mixmaster has undergone multiple major renovations since the late 1960s, it is now being rehabilitated due to deteriorating concrete decks, corroded bearings and joints, section loss in its girders and cracking in critical, non-redundant structures.

It is Walsh Construction’s task to fix the problem. The Waterbury firm is the lead contractor on the project that is rehabilitating the 10 bridges by restoring bridge parapets and curbing modifications, repairing deck spalls and overlays, improving bridge drainage and paving new asphalt. The company is repairing the concrete decks and resurfacing them with waterproof membrane, reinforcing the concrete piers and replacing the existing metal bridge rails with a concrete parapet and installing new overhead signage.

To alleviate traffic, a temporary bypass road consisting of three temporary bridge structures and 2,500 linear ft. of on-grade roadway was constructed.

“To date we have replaced the concrete decks in their entirety for Route 8 Northbound and Southbound [Bridges 03190A and 03190B],” said CTDOT. “With the completion of the decks on these two bridges, it was no longer necessary to restrict travel on those bridges so we were able to decommission and remove the temporary bridges.”

With the decommissioning of the temporary bridges complete, CTDOT said, “We are currently focused on deck repairs to I-84 Eastbound [Bridge 0319A]. Substructure concrete repairs, steel repairs and bridge drainage replacement are ongoing on all bridges. Construction of the new auxiliary lane on I-84 Westbound is currently under way and should be completed this year. The addition of this auxiliary lane from the Exit 22 onramp to the Exit 21 offramp is a safety improvement to the interchange that is being added to reduce accidents from vehicles merging onto and off the highway. Removal of the temporary bypass includes the reconstruction and reestablishment of Riverside Street that was utilized for a portion of the temporary bypass.”

“A ProAll P85 mixer is one of our main pieces of equipment,” said Andy Hubina, project manager of Walsh Construction. “So far, we have poured 1,600 cubic yards of concrete to date and another 400 cubic yards estimated. For the bypass construction, we used two main mobile cranes, a Liebherr LTM 1250 and a Manitowoc 1400.”

The company also includes a Mactech CP1 pile cutter, a Caterpillar M322D wheeled excavator and a John Deere 470G LC excavator in its equipment list.

Construction started on the Mixmaster project on June 1, 2018, with a completion date of Dec. 1, 2023.

“It’s an incentive-laced contract, so there’s a chance it will get done before that,” said David Ferraro, CTDOT construction project engineer. “The contractor will be penalized for late completion to reduce the impact to the public.”

Subcontractors on the project include AFC Construction, New Britain, Conn.; American Concrete Pumping, Portland, Conn.; Diamond Core Drilling, Elyria, Ohio; and Ducci Electrical Contractors, Farmington, Conn.

“With an extensive, multi-year overhaul of the Mixmaster, Waterbury’s overlapping highway structure, the city is now the beneficiary of a faster flow of vehicular traffic, while opening more development opportunities for new and existing businesses,” said Joe McGrath, Waterbury’s eco-

nomic development director.

The Mixmaster project has a $212 million price tag.

“The contract is split into three separate projects,” Ferraro said. “Project No. 0151-0326 is for the Route 8 bridges and the temporary bypass. The project is federally funded at an 80/20 split between the federal government and the state. Project No. 0151-0312 is for the I-84 Eastbound bridge and Project No. 1051-0313 is the for I-84 Westbound bridge. These two projects are funded at a 90/10 split between the federal government and the state.”

CTDOT said, “When completed, this rehabilitation is expected to extend the life of the Mixmaster for up to 25 years.”

(All photos courtesy of Walsh Construction.)

MIXMASTER

Construction started on the Mixmaster project on June 1, 2018, with a completion date of Dec. 1, 2023.

CTDOT said the rehabilitation project, when completed, is expected to extend the life of the Mixmaster for up to 25 years.

Walsh Construction is the lead contractor on the project that is rehabilitating the 10 bridges by restoring bridge parapets and curbing modifications and more.

The transformation of downtown Waterbury, Conn., is taking place with the rehabilitation of 10 bridges that connect Interstate 84 and Route 8.

Husband, Wife Team in Vt. Help Families Plan Their Dream Homes

GALE from page 1

expectation for a high standard of work is through their hard work and a business model that focuses both on their own work, as well as the work of others in the area.

“We provide custom cabinetry, furniture, millwork for our [own work], as well as other builders, architects, and just people off the street,” Mark Gale said. “So, instead of just being able to build a home, we can really get involved in the process right from the beginning and help people plan their dream home.”

After several demonstrations and some personal testing of the Manitou TJ 85, M. Gale Builders made their purchase.

They’re currently working on new residential construction just outside of Burlington for a young family who is investing in their dream home — being built to more than 2,500 sq. ft. and two stories.

It’s a relatively common construction style, but the home features interesting roof angles and is nestled into existing woodland with varying terrain, which makes reaching and positioning for elevated structure work a challenge.

The Gales turned to G. Stone Commercial in Middlebury, Vt., for a solution and they were introduced to the versatile Manitou TJ 85 Elevating Work Platform.

According to Jamie McCray, sales manager of G. Stone Commercial, “The TJ 85 was an excellent machine because of the reach that it can do. M. Gale works in a lot of different landscapes, and a lot of times you can’t get that close to where you’re working, but you still have to get some height and reach — and the TJ 85 provides all of that for them.”

Elevating Work Platform Provides Excellent Reach, Stability

In the past, when M. Gale Builders needed a specific piece of equipment, they said they often rented, however, Mark added, “We never really liked renting things, the rental payment seems to go out the window and there’s no residual value. Inevitably, it seems like we would rent it for a week or month, and then time is up, and we inevitably need it for another day or two — maybe even a little bit longer. So, now we can have it on the job longer and when we want, we’ll use it more, maybe even in places we haven’t used it before.”

After several demonstrations and some personal testing of the Manitou TJ 85, M. Gale Builders made their purchase and took the elevating work platform out on the job.

“The TJ 85 has allowed us to be up top on this flat ground and reach in places where the

smaller lifts or the shorter lifts wouldn’t allow us to do. It has all the features, allowing us on a site like this to be able to be farther away, reach it, and keep the machine level and safe. And the extendable jib, you can get up, and over, and back down the roofs.”

The TJ 85 telescopic boom work platform from Manitou has a platform height of 84 ft. 6 in., which can lift workers to high and hard-to-reach areas. It has a large work platform and can accommodate capacities up to 530 lbs. Additionally, its off-road tires and excellent drivability make it a good lift solution for any type of terrain, the manufacturer said.

“This was a really big purchase for M. Gale Builders,” said Mark. “Probably one of our largest purchases ever. In order for us to be comfortable and make a purchase like that, we had to have a team or a family behind us, like G. Stone’s.”

Darcy Stone explained a little bit about what helps customers make a big purchase and keep coming back, “People know if they come here to do business, we’re going to treat them right. And most of all, we’re going to be there after the sale.”

Mark and Gina attribute many of their accomplishments to overseeing quality control and delivering on promises. Often this requires them to keep their skills and equipment current. As with any business, achieving strong quality with greater speed and less effort means long-term growth. The Manitou TJ 85 has opened a whole new world of possibilities for the Vermont construction company, they said.

Jamie McCray summarized the hardworking building crew of M. Gale Builders, “Mark and Gina are known for very highend quality workmanship and a great reputation.”

The partnership between M. Gale Builders and G. Stone Commercial is a combination that continues to build on success. 

(All photos courtesy of PKA Marketing.)