It’s a good day to be inside writing an article for the Mirror.  The temperature is 15°F with wind gusts of fifty miles-per-hour.  Yesterday, the temperature was 60°F and the sun was shining.  All are very definitive signs that the season is about to begin.

In recent weeks, the atmosphere at Illowa has fluctuated nearly as much as the weather.  With a new and improved asphalt crew, an experienced group of crackfillers ready to head back to work on a physically and mentally challenging job, and a significant amount of work being let in the Muscatine area, the year looks promising yet we have already encountered our first major obstacle.

In February, we “successfully” bid on an eleven thousand ton job in Muscatine County that generated an enormous amount of positive energy within our office.  One week later, we received notice that all bids for that job had been rejected because the Engineer’s estimate was thirty-three percent lower than the lowest bid submitted (our bid).  We are not yet certain how the County Engineer intends to proceed, but rest assured that we remain persistent in our attempts to attain that job.

Fortunately, there are several jobs being let in our area that, if acquired, will improve upon the approximately seven thousand tons we have on the books for the beginning of the 2004 season.

The first week in March, Brian Armstrong, Jeff Herington, Mike Gravert, and I attended the Blaw-Knox paving school in Phoenix, AZ.  Although the weather was less than favorable, our group left feeling confident that this season will be better than the last.  An immeasurable amount of valuable information was taken from the hands-on segments of the course.  Equally beneficial to the crew were the comments, hints, and helpful suggestions that we received from our classmates.  When class had concluded and the library closed, Brian picked the brains of any and all that were willing to share their experiences in the asphalt industry.  The true worth of this trip will be evident in the quality work our HMA crew will generate this year.

The crackfill crews will start work the last week in March.  Last year, Randy picked up a substantial CRS-2 job on Interstate-80 near Iowa City.  Due to the constant flow of heavy traffic during the day, a significant portion of the work must be completed during the evening hours.  As we have completed very little night work, the challenges we face with regard to safety are a major concern.