A major project — to the tune of $425 million — is charging full steam ahead at the Route 62 exit of Route 3 in Massachusetts, approximately 15 mi. north of Boston.
Modern Continental, based in Cambridge, MA, is the general contractor on the Route 3 project that began in June 2001. The job involves widening approximately 16 mi. of Route 3, which currently is a four-lane highway, to six lanes — three running both north and south — when completed in late 2004. The project also calls for some bridge work and the creation of additional room for one more lane to be done at a later date.
“The Route 3 project is a design-build job, which means that we designed it to meet the specifications of the State of Massachusetts, and we are responsible for all aspects of its completion,” said Cosmo Pallazola, vice president of Modern Continental, which is roughly a $1-billion-a-year company.
However, there’s one problem: this area of eastern Massachusetts is noted for its severity of rock and nearly any excavation work involves blasting and crushing.
Modern is blasting rock up and down Route 3 (a 10-mi. radius) and hauling it to a site at the Route 62 exit. There, Gagliarducci Construction, which is based in Springfield, MA, has been performing on-site crushing for the project since September 2001. (Modern Continental is reusing all materials generated by Gagliarducci as either road base or backfill for bridge abutments.)
Gagliarducci owns an array of Nordberg/Metso crushing equipment, which includes two HP300 closed-circuit cones, two C100 30x40 jaws, an LT105 portable tracked jaw crusher and an 1144 Omni cone closed-circuit crusher. On the Route 3 project, the company is employing one of its HP300s and one C100 30x40 jaw crusher. Gagliarducci has purchased all of its Nordberg/Metso equipment from nearby Whitney and Son Inc., in Fitchburg, MA.
On the site, Gagliarducci is crushing material to a 3-in. minus and is crushing asphalt down to a 1.5-in. minus, which is being re-used by Modern Continental as road base. Gagliarducci is using a Cat 345B, which it purchased new from Southworth-Milton, in Milford, MA, to load its C100 jaw crusher.
Gagliarducci is producing between 2,000 and 2,500 tons (1,800 and 2,250 t) of aggregate per eight-hour day. Upon completion of the Route 3 project, Jerome Gagliarducci, president, estimates that his company will have crushed 1million tons (900,000 t) of rock.
But that’s not been the biggest challenge so far. “What we’ve really had to deal with is the extremely cramped and confined space at the site,” explained Gagliarducci. “With Modern Continental’s trucks continually coming in and out and with space that the stockpiles take up, there’s not much room left over.”
There have not been, however, any challenges in Gagliarducci’s relationship with its Nordberg/Metso supplier, Whitney & Son Inc.
“Very early on we developed a strong relationship with Charlie Jones at Whitney and Son,” Gagliarducci began. “When we purchased our first machine he demonstrated his expertise by matching up the ideal machine with our needs. We feel strongly that Nordberg/Metso has the best name in the aggregate industry and that Whitney and Son people are very knowledgeable and are experts at problem solving. Parts availability has been excellent as needed.”
Founded in 1900, Gagliarducci Construction is a third-generation company. In the late ’80s, the company began doing stone crushing work.
The first crushers Jerome Gagliarducci purchased were for use on his own job sites, but gradually expanded into doing custom crushing work. Now, the company can provide custom crushing, including road and site excavation work, anywhere in New England.
Currently, Gagliarducci is involved in excavation work at the Deerfield Massachusetts Academy, 4 mi. of new road construction for the state of Massachusetts and work at the Mount Tom Power Plant. During the summer construction season, Gagliarducci employs approximately 70 people.
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