Duxbury Construction LLC utilized a Morooka MST2200VD rubber track carrier supplied by Shawmut Equipment to excavate the beach on the Standish Shore in Duxbury, Mass. The current beach site had a 3 ft. cliff due to erosion of the sand leaving an uneven landscape.

Following detailed plans prepared by Studio 2112 Landscape Architecture, Duxbury Construction worked to restore the dunes by adding sand and cobble to eliminate the cliff and reduce the slope at the end of the revetment. The Morooka aided in the dune restoration by hauling sand and cobble from one part of the beach a half mile down the shore line to another area. After moving the material, they stacked the 6 to 8 in. (15 to 20 cm) cobble to level out the cliff and added sand to even out the slope of the beach. During the week-long job, the Morooka hauled 100 tons (91 t) of 6 to 8 in. cobble and 600 tons (544 t) of sand.

The job was challenging because the hauling could only be done during low tide in order to successfully navigate around the existing sea wall. The Morooka was able to easily climb up and down a steep incline in order to get over the dunes and down the resource area.

“The machine’s performance was excellent. It was fast and easy to drive, making it simple to get around,” said one of Duxbury Construction’s employees.

The ground bearing pressure of the equipment was a key factor in choosing the right machine for the job. The low ground bearing pressure of the Morooka MST2200VD caused minimal impact on the ecosystem and the tracks left no ruts in the beach. A wheeled machine would have had a severe impact on the environment. In addition to nursing the beach, they were able to take the tailgate of the Morooka off and load larger rocks to repair the seawall.

“We were put in a tough position. We had a rental scheduled through a different company, but we got a call the day the rental was to start telling us that the machine would not be available. I then heard of Shawmut Equipment through a friend. I called Shawmut on Monday at noon and they delivered the Morooka to the job site by 2 p.m. that same day. This was incredibly important because we had to work around the tidal changes. If Shawmut couldn’t supply the machine right away, the project would have been pushed back two weeks,” said Bo Boynton, vice president of Duxbury Construction. “The Morooka worked great for the job, allowing us to do everything that we needed to accomplish within the tight timeframe.”

The Morooka MST2200VD is a 24,046 lb. (10,907 kg) capacity rubber track carrier equipped with a Caterpillar C-7 250 hp engine. The machine can travel up to 7.5 mph and is extremely versatile in its application. The MST2200VD has a low ground bearing pressure, enabling utilization on muddy or soft job sites. The MST2200VD has a dump bed measuring 11 ft. 10 in. (3.6 m) long and 8 ft. 1 in. (2.4 m) wide.

Duxbury Construction LLC is a contractor focusing on general excavation, clearing, water problems, septic systems and seawalls. For more than 30 years, it has worked throughout the town of Duxbury, as well as other areas of the South Shore. Shawmut Equipment Company Inc. serves the crane and utility equipment industries in the northeast and Atlantic Canada. Since 1957, Shawmut has offered sales, rentals, parts and service.

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