As I sit writing this report on November 19, 2003, I look outside and it is 60° with the sun shining. It’s hard to believe another construction season is about over. Before it is over, we still have a lot of work to finish.

Duane, Mike V., Cortney and crews are still very busy in Wichita. I think it has been one of the toughest jobs we have ever built. The job is a one-mile section of interstate, six lanes wide with many ramps and exits, just north of downtown Wichita. We have dirt, removals, lime treated subbase, CTB and PCC paving.

Both PCC crews plus the Kansas crew have done a great job building such a difficult project. If everything goes right, we should be nearing completion around the middle of December. This job will make I-235 in Des Moines look like a piece of cake (see pictures on page 4).

Paunch and crew are busy in Baxter and plan to move to Skylar County, Missouri this Friday. Hopefully, they will finish up in about 2 weeks!

Little Kenny and crew are moving dirt on a development north of Lynnville. This job is unique because we have placed about
10,000lf of silt fence. I think this makes Kenny the “silt fence king”.  After Lynnville, we plan to head to Montour Quarry to strip dirt for WQI. It should take about three months. Jeremy and crew have been helping Metro and other crews.

Monte and Scott have been working in Grinnell. Larry took lay off after they finished the new septic system at the Quarterpost in Guernsey.

Brian and crew have finished crushing in Ankeny for Metro. They plan to do maintenance before heading to Ames to crush this winter.

At the beginning of the season, we did not think we would have enough work to keep busy. The estimators did a great job, as we kept very busy after all. This is the first time we have worked in four different states in one year; Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. It took a lot of teamwork and just plain hard work to complete this season. Thanks to all!

Things look bright for next season. We are apparent low bidder on a $10.8 million project in Tama and Marshall counties. Just had the IDOT letting on November 18th. Prices were tight but it is good to get a job close to home base. We also have several carryover projects; Eddyville, Warren and Page Counties, and Boone. We are in the best shape for work next year at this early date than we have been in a long time. Hopefully, we will be lucky and get some better, more profitable work later.

On the safety side of the house, things are looking better! Our incident rates are about the same but the incurred costs are lower. We still have too many stupid mistakes; we must think safety first! We still have a long way to go to hit our goal of a workers compensation mod under .85.

As the season closes, I want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication. Without you we would not be the company we are today. Thanks again! Have a great and safe Holiday Season and we hope to see everyone next season.