You’ve heard of creative solutions, but this one might take the cake.

When Rohde Construction of Kentwood, Mich. was contracted to build the new Glen’s Market in Manistee, Mich., it discovered an expensive problem: how to move 65,000 yards of fill across a major state highway to raise the foundation of the construction site – without stopping traffic and breaking the bank.

Well, get a load of this. The Team Elmer’s crew had an ingenious idea: what if the hundreds of tons of fill could cross the road without touching the highway?

With Michigan Department of Transportation approval, and proper 17-foot clearance signage on all equipment, our inspired crews solved the riddle. Two 980G CAT loaders removed bank sand across the road, and charged a feed hopper, which in-turn transferred material to two smaller, hand-built conveyor units. These fed into a 150-foot telescopic stacker, which carried the sand across US-31. And, the stacker unit was retrofitted with metal sheets and geotextile fabric to capture sand that might fall from the conveyor, keeping debris from the car traffic below.

At peak performance, the crews and conveyor units transported some 800 tons of sand per hour across the highway, and averaged 5,000 tons per day -- all amidst the snow, frost, ice, and rain of December in Michigan!

Meanwhile, over 700 lineal ft--22,000 sq. ft.--of retaining wall in three sections averaging 8 ft. to 21 ft. tall were placed throughout the site. That’s a total of 2.706 million pounds of block set in place by hand! Storm sewer catch basin sections were placed during wall installation due to its close proximity to the wall and the geo-grid required to anchor the wall for support. A crew of ten worked daily on the wall in various sections, from unloading block, setting foundation, ensuring elevations and alignment, to catch basin placement, backfilling, geo-grid placement and final wall construction.

We’re proud to say the Glen’s Market opened on schedule, Rohde Construction is a very satisfied customer, and we’ve solved another tricky problem--just see for yourself!