B&K CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LLC

from H&E - Advantage - April 2022

B&K CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LLC

TAKING A CHANCE AND LEARNING FROM IT PAYS OFF BIG FOR CONTRACTOR FOCUSED ON FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA

**(L-R) Craig Thibodeaux, Crane Foreman; Blake Andrews, Vice President; Mike Tassin, General Superintendent**

B&K Construction Company LLC (B&K) is approaching the 30th anniversary of its first canal job in New Orleans. Vice President Blake Andrews recalled that the project was used as a learning tool, and it allowed B&K to get in on the ground floor of the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Damage Reduction Project (SELA) instituted by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1990.

“The first was in Jefferson Parish,” said Andrews. “We learned how to do the work in the most efficient manner, and it’s been our main driver ever since. Nearly everything we do today is low-bid governmental work, mainly for the Army Corps of Engineers.”

The projects involve upgrading the canals that have long been used as flood‐control drainage throughout the New Orleans area. Most were grass-filled and unable to move large volumes of water after heavy rains. The Army Corps of Engineers decided that lining them with concrete would improve the water flow.

Operators work in tandem to place and grade material with Komatsu D61PX-24 dozers on B&K Construction Company’s levee project near Belle Chasse. “The PX models have wider tracks, so there is less ground pressure, which is vital when you’re working in wet, mucky areas,” said Brian Dunn, Senior Project Manager. “The D61s are the perfect size for us because they can handle large-volume pushes while also giving us good fine-grading ability.”

“B&K has likely lined more canal bottoms in the SELA program than any other contractor in the region,” said Andrews. “As a general contractor, we self‐perform basically everything on a job, including pile driving, pouring concrete and any associated earthwork. That gives us control of the schedule and our own destiny.”

Canal projects are often long-term propositions, such as the current remediation and widening of one in Algiers, the second-oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, in the middle of General De Gaulle Drive. The project began in early 2020 and is scheduled for completion in January of 2026. During a rainfall of 1 to 2 inches per hour, the canal is designed to hold up to 200% more water and keep it out of surrounding streets and homes.

“Like most, we started by installing sheet piles to construct a temporary retaining structure,” explained Steve Tannetta, Senior Project Manager. “Then, we remove dirt and haul it off to get down to the proper elevation. Once we’re there, we pour a stabilizing slab for concrete and a 40‐foot canal flume, followed by concrete walls. After putting in structure backfill, we’ll remove the sheet piles and do final drainage improvements.”

B&K uses multiple Komatsu excavators for canal and levee-building projects, including PC290LC-11, PC360LC-11 and PC138USLC-11 models. “We use…PC138USLC tight tail swings because we get into confined spaces such as between the canal side and the construction site fencing,” said Foreman Mike Comeaux. “They give us good digging power without worrying about the counterweight swinging into something. The long reach (PC290) ensures we are able to make those deep digs productively, and the standard excavators are just all-around good machines for moving dirt.”

FOLLOWED THE WORK

Based in Mandeville, La., on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, B&K has focused mainly on New Orleans since the mid-1980s. Prior to that, founder H.B. “Boone” Kenyon contracted quite a number of projects in Baton Rouge, La., and Morgan City, La., as well.

“He followed the work,” said Andrews. “Boone and a partner started out doing subdivision projects, then moved on to sewer work when high interest rates caused a downturn in the housing market in the 1980s. Once we started focusing on the governmental market, that became our driver. We haven’t done any residential for quite some time. However, we still do large-volume earthwork with our levee‐building projects.”

With almost 100 employees, B&K typically has multiple large undertakings in the works. In addition to canals, it performs heavy civil earthwork projects such as building levees. A current contract has a crew constructing a 2.5-mile system south of New Orleans. Work started in October 2020 and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025.

**Steve Tannetta, Senior Project Manager**

“It involves filling in an existing canal that occupies the footprint and building up a new levee in conjunction,” said Brian Dunn, Senior Project Manager. “It’ll have two small gate structures to allow water in and out from the protected side to the flood side during non‐hurricane season. We will move about 2 million yards, including importing quite a lot of dirt. We will construct 500‐foot sections, getting them to a point that we can travel across them, then continue building off of those.”

LONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH H&E, KOMATSU

Just a little farther south in Port Sulphur, B&K has a borrow pit that is used to import dirt on a project where a crew is constructing a 12,000‐foot levee with reinforced concrete along the Mississippi River.

“We will do some soil stabilization as part of it,” noted Bo Markovic, Senior Estimator/Project Manager. “In total, we will move about 550,000 cubic yards during a 600-day contract. At both the levee and the 40-acre pit, we are using Komatsu equipment, which has been a mainstay in our fleet since I joined the company about 18 years ago. The performance and longevity are great, the service is excellent, and our operators prefer Komatsu. That all factors into why we have run Komatsu for so long.”

B&K’s reliance on Komatsu equipment actually goes back much further than that. Foreman Mike Comeaux has been with B&K for 35 years and doesn’t remember a time when Komatsu and H&E Equipment Services (H&E) weren’t parts of the equation. To dig canal bottoms and send concrete buckets down to personnel, B&K uses long-reach excavators, including a PC290LC-11. For general excavation, loading trucks and utility work, it utilizes PC210, PC240, PC290 and PC360 models.

“Performance and uptime are essential, and Komatsu has always delivered on both,” said Comeaux. “We use a mix of excavators on the canal projects, including PC138USLC tight tail swings because we get into confined spaces such as between the canal side and the construction site fencing. They give us good digging power without worrying about the counterweight swinging into something. The long reach ensures we are able to make those deep digs productively, and the standard excavators are just all-around good machines for moving dirt.”

B&K mainly uses Komatsu D61PX dozers to level dirt on its various levee projects.

**A B&K operator loads trucks at a borrow pit with a Komatsu PC360LC-11 excavator. “Performance and uptime are essential, and Komatsu has always delivered on both,” said Foreman Mike Comeaux.**

“The PX models have wider tracks, so there is less ground pressure, which is vital when you’re working in wet, mucky areas,” said Dunn. “Each machine is probably running eight to 10 trucks per day, making 15 to 20 loads per truck, and they do it without giving us any trouble. The D61s are the perfect size for us because they can handle large-volume pushes while also giving us good fine-grading ability.”

H&E takes care of factory-scheduled services on newer Komatsu machines under Komatsu Care and has helped B&K not only acquire Komatsu equipment but also Takeuchi skid steers, LayMor sweepers and Sullair air compressors. H&E Territory Sales Manager David Bell assisted with B&K’s most recent purchases.

“Service plays a big role in our equipment choices, and H&E has always been great,” said Andrews. “Whenever we need something, they are right there to take care of it, whether it’s sales, rentals or service. I think the fact that we have so many of the product lines they carry in our fleet is a big statement.”

H&E Equipment Services’ David Bell (left) and B&K’s Brian Dunn discuss how to access telematics data with My Komatsu. “We have a very good, long-standing relationship with H&E,” said Dunn. “They take great care of us by ensuring we have the right machines and that we are getting the most out of them.”

A BRIGHT FUTURE, EXPANSION PLANS

Andrews said there is still plenty of canal and levee work for the foreseeable future, so B&K Construction Company is unlikely to look at other markets for work. He is, however, hopeful to expand the business.

“We’re looking to double in size in the next five to 10 years,” said Andrews. “I’m even more excited about the outlook than I have ever been. My son will be joining full time soon and will continue to work for many years to come. I think the future looks very bright.”