Written on January 31, 2012 at 4:33 pm
GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado—United Companies of Mesa County, one of five companies that comprise Oldcastle’s Southwest Group, Inc., announced this week that it was awarded Federal Highway Administration Central Federal Lands Division’s $12.4 million Taylor River Road project. Taylor River Road is located in the Gunnison National Forest, Gunnison County, Colo. The road includes areas of private property and extensive pristine national forest filled with world-class trout fishing.
United Companies will completely reconstruct five miles of the road which is located in a tight, narrow canyon with rolling and mountainous terrain. United Companies will be responsible for rotomilling 72,000 square yards of the existing roadway and completing 82,000 cubic yards of roadway excavation. United Companies will also supply aggregates, topsoil and complete 21,000 tons of asphalt paving.
“We are very excited to be part of this project,” said Kyle Alpha, United Companies general manager. “Taylor River Road is a beautiful recreation destination area, is extremely environmentally sensitive and is a well-traveled road by tourists and locals. The improvements will increase its longevity, and provide extensive improvement in safety and environmental protection for all travelers.”
Key subcontractors include C.C. Enterprises, Yenter Companies and TGI, also an Oldcastle company. Construction will begin in May and completion is anticipated for fall 2012.
Written on January 3, 2012 at 7:54 pm
Staker Parson Companies began work on the UDOT I-70 project in September 2011. The scope of work included rotomilling and paving 4 miles of I-70 west of Green River, Utah, with 40,000 tons hot mix asphalt and 20,000 tons SMA. Staker Parson relied on Grand Junction, Colorado-based United Companies, also an Oldcastle company, to complete the paving on the project.
“United Companies has expertise in paving challenging projects such as UDOT I-70,” reports Tyson Nelson, Staker Parson project manager. “They provided us a highly experienced and skilled paving crew, as well as a paver, three double drum rollers, side-cast and conveyor brooms to help us complete the job.”
This was the first job completed by the two companies together, but Nelson says the crews worked together like friends from the beginning. “Ken Dobey, Rick Bottenfield, Raul Fonseca and other skilled crew members quickly adjusted to running with double belly dumps and laying a 4-inch compacted mat, which they had not done before,” Nelson says. “They did a great job keeping the trucks running efficient cycle times. Their joints and seams were tight, smooth and straight. The roller operators efficiently made changes in rolling patterns to maintain achieving compaction amongst changes in mix and ambient temperature.” The success of paving is evident in the 85 percent paving smoothness bonus achieved by the companies.
Nelson says the experience of working with another Oldcastle company helped make the job successful. “We enjoyed the experience of working with one of our sister companies and have learned ways to help our work go even smoother the next time around,” he says. “Crew members were asked to put in extra hours on nights and weekends to make sure we were able to run the next day and complete the project on time. Without the willingness of all crew members to go the extra mile, the job would not have turned out as well as it did.”
The companies completed work on the project in November 2011.
Photo caption: Saul Valdez, Paul Guillen, Alonso Morales, Louis Guillen Sr., Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Becerra, Orlando Trujillo, Dan Payne and Fermin Trujillo. Photo taken by foreman Raul Fonseca.
Written on November 18, 2011 at 7:01 pm
The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) recently announced that six of United Companies’ hot-mix asphalt (HMA) plants have earned NAPA’s Diamond Achievement Commendation for Excellence in Hot-Mix Asphalt Plant/Site Operations. The award-winning plants are Montrose, Gunnison, Portable, Rifle, Grand Junction, Norwood and Eagle. In addition to earning the Diamond Achievement Commendation, three of United Companies’ HMA plants earned the NAPA Diamond Quality Commendation.
According to a press release issued by NAPA, “The Diamond Achievement Commendation is an honor in which a company can take great pride. It clearly demonstrates a coprorate commitment to excellence with a community focus.” NAPA also notes on their website that many asphalt plants are now in the midst of communities, making it imperative that HMA plants demonstrate good corporate citizenship and neighbor-friendly operations.
The Diamond Achievement Commendation program was launched in 1999 to provide an avenue for HMA operations to set and reach goals that allow for continuous improvement.The unique and voluntary self-assessment program addresses six essential facets of responsible HMA operations: appearance, operations, environmental practices, safety, permitting and regulatory compliance and community relations.
Earning the Commendation exemplifies the commitment to excellence in all aspects of HMA facilities and symbolizes continuous improvement in operations and community relations.
Written on September 6, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Denver, COLORADO–Mesa County based United Companies has been recognized with the 2010 Hot Mix Asphalt Quality in Production Award from the Colorado Department of Transportation. This statewide award was presented by CDOT Chief Engineer Pam Hutton on February 23 at the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association’s 17th Annual Best in Colorado Asphalt Pavement Awards Dinner and Program. The event was held in conjunction with the 38th Annual Rocky Mountain Asphalt Conference & Equipment Show.
The award is given to the company that most consistently provides quality materials on Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) projects during the construction season. Accepting the award on behalf of United Companies were Bob Ekstrom, Quality Control Manager, and Mickey Bryan, Laboratory Supervisor. “This award is one of the most coveted in the industry and speaks to United Companies’ commitment to quality,” stated Tom Peterson, Executive Director, Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association.
United Companies received the award for the category of those producing greater than 20,000 tons of hot mix asphalt but less than 100,000 tons.
The award was established in 2002 by the Colorado Department of Transportation to identify and acknowledge the single asphalt producer who most consistently meets the CDOT specification requirements. The awards program also recognized 16 paving projects as statewide recipients of “Best in Colorado” awards.
Written on April 16, 2011 at 7:32 pm
MESA COUNTY, Colorado– United Companies will begin paving a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project at the Park-and-Ride facility in Clifton on April 9, 2010 using a new green technology called warm-mix asphalt. The project involves construction of two new parking lots off 32 Road for CDOT in Clifton and paving on Peach Street for Mesa County.
“United Companies has invested in warm-mix asphalt technology for the inherent environmental benefits” said Kyle Alpha, general manager for United Companies. “This technology is used extensively in Europe and is catching fire in the US paving industry. Our industry and agency partners are in the experimental phase of implementation now in the US, but we are convinced this will be the standard manufacturing process of asphalt pavement in the future”.
Warm-mix asphalt is a modification to the traditional manufacturing process that allows much cooler mixture temperatures to be used for pavement construction. The technology provides up to a 30-perfect reduction in green-house gas emissions at the asphalt plant, the ability to increase the amount of recycled asphalt pavement into the mixture, an extension of the asphalt construction season due to the cooler temperatures, a significant reduction of smoke at the asphalt paver and a plant fuel cost savings at the same time.
Research indicates that warm-mix asphalt is equivalent in quality to the traditional hot-mix asphalt. Various warm-mix technologies exist, but they all involve chemicals or water added to the asphalt to reduce its viscosity during the paving construction process. The technology United Companies employs creates a foam, mixing the asphalt cement with water prior to mixing the material with local rock and sand aggregates, and typically with recycled asphalt pavement material. Once the asphalt paving construction process is complete, the water evaporates from the mixture. What remains is the same pavement that would have been constructed with hot-mix asphalt, but this pavement is environmentally conscious.
“United Companies appreciates CDOT and Mesa County for allowing us to demonstrate the benefits of warm-mix asphalt technology on this project,” said Alpha. “Allowing the industry to prove this technology on their project shows a significant concern these agencies have toward environmental stewardship.”
The West lot of the project was constructed using traditional hot-mix asphalt last fall. The East lot and Peach Street are being constructed in warm-mix asphalt for long-term durability studies.
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