Chicago is not the only city riding the construction wave. More and more Illinois based general contractors, subcontractors, and vendors are crossing over the Indiana border to take a bite of the Hoosier State’s construction budget. While many companies are threatening to leave Illinois over rising tax rates, in what the Tribune calls “The Illinois Exodus,” Indiana is waiting with open arms and massive infrastructure upgrades.
Back-to-back ISHTA General Contractor of the Year award winner, Dunnet Bay Construction, has been a major player in Heavy Highway since 1990. In February of 2018, The Indiana Department of Transportation, INDOT for short, accepted bids for the replacement of the Indianapolis Boulevard bridge over the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. Seasoned low-bidder, Dunnet Bay, was awarded the contract with an eye toward an April start date.
Undertaking a bridge replacement project, while maintaining civilian functionality as one of Highland Indiana’s most traveled state routes, presented Dunnet Bay with unique challenges. Local news organizations encouraged drivers to explore alternate routes and temporary street signals were installed on nearby intersections. Despite the project size, one lane of traffic in each direction was required to remain open at all times.
Dozens of Dunnet Bay branded yellow crawler cranes pepper Chicago’s tollways and interstates. According to Dunnet Bay Superintendent, Joseph P. Lenaham, “We remain competitive in a tough tight market by self-performing the majority of our work, utilizing an efficient fleet of 100% owned equipment.”
Occasionally, however, when site restrictions and insufficient capacity meet, Heavy Highway contractors must abandon their own crane equipment for a stronger, more mobile, solution. Enter La Grange Crane.
To compete with the new 61,000 lbs bridge beams, La Grange Crane Supplied 550 & 350 Ton Cranes on opposite sides of the 160 foot expanse. Dunnet Bay and La Grange Crane collaborated to minimize the added expense of subcontracting outside equipment by designing the most time efficient and cost-effective lift plan. Built around interval railway shutdowns, existing beams over the tracks were removed first, followed by the installations of over 600,000 lbs of prestressed concrete beams in less than two days.
Overseeing the Highland Avenue Bridge project and an increased presence in Indiana, President Judi Mooncotch Jr., is proud to announce that La Grange Crane is now WBE Certified in Indiana, alongside Illinois.
La Grange is dedicated toward building a business anchored in the growth and success of our customers. With the newly issued Indiana Womens Business Enterprise License, La Grange will help contractors more aggressively pursue work in neighboring states on projects with WBE initiatives and bid requirements.
The new Indianapolis Blvd bridge in Highland is on pace toward a mid-November completion. In just a few weeks, La Grange Crane and Dunnet Bay will reunite on the project to set the final bridge beams servicing the outside lanes.
The seminal moment will not go unnoticed.
Indiana, here we come.
