General Excavating

"It was our pleasure to be associated with such a professional and efficient team!" stated Rick Phipps, Senior Construction Manager for McLeod USA.

McLeod USA contracted General Excavating to place four 2-inch ducts for fiber optic cable in downtown Omaha. This project, known as the McLeod Omaha Loop Project, was over 20,000 feet in length and required extensive coordination with the City of Omaha. Dennis Willeford, General Excavating's on-site project foreman, was required to close several lanes of traffic at one time. "Dennis did an excellent job of keeping traffic flowing AND construction flowing at the same time," exclaimed Lynn Siedschlag, Division Manager for General Excavating. While the lanes of traffic were closed, General Excavating was required to excavate and place new manholes in the pavement for future use by the City of Omaha.

This is one of the most successful projects McLeod has completed.

Directional boring was used to place the cable to a variety of depths up to 22 feet below ground surface. Vacuum excavation was used to reduce the risk of penetrating existing utility lines and to locate utilities along the route. James Oldfield, the directional boring project foreman, steered his crew through traffic congestion and countless existing utilities.

What is vacuum excavation? It is a method of construction used to verify underground utility locations, to clean vaults and manholes, and to assist with the installation of gas, water and communication line services.

How does vacuum excavation work? It utilizes the kinetic energy in a high velocity air stream to penetrate, expand and break up soil. The loosened soil and rocks are then removed from the hole through the use of a powerful vacuum. The hole is created typically one to two feet square and as deep as required to expose the buried utility.

Why choose vacuum excavation? The vacuum excavation provides greater safety for the contractor by eliminating the risk of utility interruption from a backhoe, pick or shovel accidentally striking a fiber optic cable, gas pipeline, electric power line, or water main.

Who uses vacuum excavation? Contractors, utility companies and owners who do not want to disturb the ground and want to save time and money in restoration costs. Vacuum excavation also enables directional boring operators to know the exact location of utilities intersecting the bore path.

If you are interested in vacuum excavation, please contact Joe D'Amico with General Excavating for a demonstration or video highlighting the methods.

Over 500 landscaping customers showed up for the 4th Annual Landscaping Days. Annually, General Excavating holds this special event to show appreciation to its valuable landscaping customers by marking down prices on many of their items. Some of these items included flagstone, decorative rock, mulch and steppers at 'rock bottom' prices.

For three days, General Excavating offered free hotdogs, popcorn and pop to their loyal landscaping customers while they browsed around planning their dreamscape. "This event was a complete success - only because of our customers!" claimed Roy Coulter, Landscape Sales Manager. "Every year, our annual sale gets larger and larger," he concluded.

This year's event included one-on-one customer service in the hardscape yard. One customer commented, "I appreciated the attention I got while I was picking out decorative rock for my landscape berm. I was not certain what I wanted to do and with the help of a General Excavating employee, I was able to pick out what was most suitable for my needs."

General Excavating is adding new offices and a shop area to the existing building at 6701 Cornhusker Hwy. "Rapid growth in our workload has enabled us to increase the number of employees and equipment," claims President Scott Fitzgerald.

Ayars & Ayars, Inc. has been hired to construct the 2975 SF office addition and 3750 SF shop addition. According to Laura Phillips, Project Manager for Ayars & Ayars, Inc., completion is expected August 1st, 2000.

Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. is sponsoring a Heavy Equipment Construction Rodeo. This eye-popping affair will feature skilled equipment contests including skid loaders, backhoes, excavators and mini-excavators. Contestants are given a set of criteria to complete each event. Like actual rodeos, spectators will cheer on the heavy equipment operators while an announcer calls the action.

The rodeo will be held Saturday, August 19th at the Sarpy County Fair Grounds in Springfield, NE from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Hang on for a great time!

This edition's 'Photo of the Quarter' winner is Daryl Hopp. Mr. Hopp is a Project Foreman for General Excavating and has been an employee for over 11 years. This picture shows installation of storm sewer pipe in Milford, NE for Southeast Community College.