Our 2002 construction season is growing near. As publicized in the past issue the State lettings have been very small compared to what we have been used to seeing in the past. We have been able to pick up some work in each letting, but it has been a battle.

Subdrain projects total up to around 410,000 feet on the books. We have 3 carry over projects in Hardin, Polk and Muscatine counties which will follow concrete paving. One other project is in Jasper county. This project will under go further grading before it is ready.

In the past State lettings, we were able to add the subdrain for 2 out of the 3 final sections of Highway 20. Total footage for these projects is around 265,000 feet! Another sizable project is the last phase of Highway 5 on the south side of Des Moines where there is 77,000 feet to install.

This year is shaping up like last year with a late start looking evident. My main concern, as for all crews, is that once you are called back I can keep a steady flow of work all season long. I'm optimistic we will be able to do this as I hear of work yet to be let this season.

Sealcoating has a couple of projects as carry over and the year looks stable as far as I can tell at this time. As winter fades away maintenance comes to mind and the phone rings for quotes! Shortly, Virg and I will be making sales calls on customers and hope to fill this crew up once again.

As far as the State lettings, there has been only one sealcoating project let to date. Usually the May lettings contain more work for this crew. Stabilization ties into this crew as they follow doing compaction and blading. The Jasper county project will have a couple of miles to complete this spring and also a project over by Belle Plaine to reclaim and stabilize. Each year we are getting more projects for this machine. At this time I know of 3 to 4 large projects that sound very promising for bidding and hope to add them to our schedule.

This year will be a challenging season for everyone. Every effort to minimze cost of operation must be on our minds this season and become a habit for the future.

Safety and health is our first concern. Insurance costs are rising dramatically! Our goal must be zero incidents! Use protective equipment such as safety glasses, ear plugs, gloves, etc, as needed. Always look twice before moving equipment or vehicles.

Quality and production comes next. Every material going into that project is a costing item. Be concerned about waste as if you were paying for that material yourself. Watch equipment and vehicles for prolonged idling, maintain correct tire pressures as this all leads to wasted fuel costs.