# Big job stories



## Scag48 (Jul 10, 2000)

Hey guys. Just thought we could pass on some stories of some of those "big jobs". Only thing is, my definition of a big job might be different from yours so no bashing please.  LOL. Anyway, I'll share one of my stories.

About 2 years ago, our city or should I say, "village" needed the sewer line replaced. Sound easy? Not exactly. Here's the kicker, six miles of lake shoreline to work on, literally. The job was to install a 6 mile sewer line in about 2 months. The first part was to pre-fab all the piping. They brought in the pipe, then connected it all with some sort of machine, dumped it in the lake, and then towed it with a boat to the beginning of the line. Digging then began. A Cat 325 started trenching at mile 0 and then dug about 1/2 mile where a Cat 320 took over from there. 1 mile up from that was another 320 digging and installing pipe. Since the pipe was all pre-fabed, the pipe was actually pulled into the trench. Sections of it at the most were maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile long. So the strategy was to dig, check grade and depth, pull pipe, and continue digging. It was a very interesting operation. Anyway, back to the story. Another challenge to this project was homeowner's docks. Some where moved, some had to be dug under, and with a 320 Cat, that was not easy. And with all the houses along the lake, they all had their own water systems, or pumps, to pump water from the lake so the operator would have to avoid the waterlines that were running along the shoreline at all times. A Cat 315 was right behind the 320 backfilling and packing and a 313 SSR was doing some special laterall work (sp.?). For anyone who doesn't know what I mean by laterall, it's the actual line that connects the home sewer line to the actual delivery line. Anyway, after about 2 months of tetious work, it was all done. After hitting numerous water lines, regular job headaches, and the like, the crew finally packed up and left. My dad was the commissioner of the city (village) sewer board so I got most of the construction details. I got to look at some of the plans before the project started. Another plus was I learned some great excavator techniques. Of course, it was the same guy running the main 320 everyday so I got to talk to him all the time and he showed me some stuff along the way. The only downside was he only gave me 5 bucks to clean the undercarriage out one day, it took me about and hour to clean all the clay out. Anyway, thought I'd mix it up a bit with this thread. Hope some of you guys have some memorable jobs because I know this is one of the coolest jobs I've ever seen. There's going to be a second phase of the project starting in about 1 month and the bids are hot! When and if I get a digital camera, I'll post some pics on the second phase if possible. Well, lets hear some stories! Later guys. 

[Edited by Scag48 on 02-03-2001 at 11:58 PM]


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## guido (May 13, 2001)

*Last big job*

The last big job we did wasn't really all that big, but it was for the small crew we had working it. 4000 feet up hand laid curbstone, 2000 feet of hand laid boarderstone, 3000 feet (and 4' wide) paver (puzzlestone) sidewalk and 2000 feet of roadway. All new sewer and drainage systems, all new street signs, and line markings, etc.

There is a Power Point Slideshow of about 150 pictures that shows it pretty much from start to finish. I posted a link to it on my website in the message section. Download it and let me know what you think.


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