The birth of Metropolis required the involvement of multiple construction contractors, including Milestone Contractors L.P. The Indiana-based company was hired to build Metropolis’ parking lots and interior paths and roadways, as well as to repair an existing road nearby.
Milestone began work on Perry Road, in front of the mall, in September 2005, while still in the process of completing work around the mall. While the road construction proved to be far less logistically challenging than the asphalt work around the mall itself, there was still the concern of the project’s timeline, with just a few weeks left to complete the road.
One of Shireman’s contacts is Chuck Deahl, national account manager for BOMAG Americas. “Chuck happened to be in the area and told us about BOMAG’s new roller," said Shireman. The new roller was the BW278 tandem vibratory roller, which Deahl offered to Milestone for demonstration. With just days remaining before the doors were to open at Metropolis, the roller was brought out to assist with the completion of Perry Road.
Chad Warren, Milestone’s asphalt job superintendent at Metropolis, cited the BW278’s drum width of 78 in. as a huge benefit. “I was really impressed with the wide drum," said Warren. "We could make about two passes and compact the material. The roller really achieved what we were looking for."
Variable frequency is another key feature on the BW278 , which offers vibration frequencies ranging from a minimum of 2,000 to a maximum of 3,800 vibrations per minute (vpm). Milestone ran the roller primarily in low amplitude at 3,800 vpm and then reduced the frequency while working more slowly on the turnouts and approaches.
The productivity of the BW278 was impressive enough that Milestone decided to buy the BW278 , and the company recently purchased three additional BOMAG rollers for future projects. On Oct. 26, 2005, just three days before the grand opening of Metropolis, Milestone’s crews completed work on the site. Deahl, being familiar with deadlines, was genuinely impressed with the work of the Milestone crews.
“They had hard-working paving crews that really came through up against the deadline," said Deahl. “For them to lay an 1 ½ in. of surface mix and get the smoothness they did was just excellent. I liken good paving crews to good families. And good families do two things: They communicate, and they watch out for each other. That’s exactly what this crew did."
