Southwest Asphalt Paving, the contractor constructing Highway 179 and the new roundabouts at Highway 89A, sent their men and women home a few hours early for the three-day holiday weekend after treating them to an employee-appreciation lunch on Thursday, July 3.
The short break was a welcome respite before the storm of activity that hits this week, as crews start re-constructing the ‘Y’ intersection, a phase requiring work around the clock, seven days a week until it’s done.
“These jobs don’t get built by themselves,” Gregg Smith, SWAP project manager, said. “We like to stop once in a while to let them know how much we appreciate what they’re doing.”
By Susan Johnson
Larson Newspapers
Southwest Asphalt Paving, the contractor constructing Highway 179 and the new roundabouts at Highway 89A, sent their men and women home a few hours early for the three-day holiday weekend after treating them to an employee-appreciation lunch on Thursday, July 3.
The short break was a welcome respite before the storm of activity that hits this week, as crews start re-constructing the ‘Y’ intersection, a phase requiring work around the clock, seven days a week until it’s done.
“These jobs don’t get built by themselves,” Gregg Smith, SWAP project manager, said. “We like to stop once in a while to let them know how much we appreciate what they’re doing.”
Only three out of 120 SWAP workers live in the Verde Valley; the rest hail from all over Arizona. They either rent rooms in private homes, stay in hotel rooms, share cramped quarters in rented trailers with their co-workers, or commute.
Rob Zesati lives in Queen Creek, 146 miles from the ‘Y,’ so he’s renting a nearby hotel room for $45 a night.
Looking on the bright side of things, Zesati said that after working in construction in Phoenix for the past 10 years, the nearly 100-degree weather in Sedona “is not a factor — it’s nice to be here.”
For Mike Bonesteel, who’s commuting from 79th Avenue in Phoenix, it’s worth the daily drive to spend the night in his own bed, despite driving a Dodge pickup truck that gets 24 miles per gallon from its diesel engine.
Another employee, Les Underwood, found a place to stay in Rimrock during the week, getting home only on the weekends, a less than perfect solution.
“Any time you’re away from home, it’s trouble,” Underwood said. “But, you’ve got to make a living.
Smith lives in Gilbert, working 14 days on and then taking three days off to be with his family before he’s due back on the job, while Richard Stafford is one of the lucky few who live in Cottonwood.
Both said that the project is going well, considering its intricacies.
Brandon DeCarlo of Arizona Department of Transportation agreed.
“The plan set is 760 pages long,” DeCarlo said. “That’s a lot of features foot for foot.
Smith praised the assembled corps of workers and also the degree of cooperation and teamwork among all stakeholders involved, from the design team to the city of Sedona to ADOT.
“I have never encountered a team like this one,” Smith said. “We’ve been able to expedite this project because everybody’s working through the challenges instead of working against each other.”
Even the residents came in
for praise.
“They’re showing their support by showing up at meetings, trying to help and being actively involved in the process,” Smith said.
The project is complicated by the topography of the red rocks, forcing workers into extreme workspaces.
Rafael Gonzales and Luis Caloca are two of the heavy
equipment operators who delicately maneuver between obstacles.
Caloca, the father of a 1-year-old son, is currently running the large excavator digging the natural gas line adjacent to Tlaquepaque.
“I’ve got traffic on one side and people walking inches away on the other side,” Caloca said. “But, we have a lot of good hands working with me that help to keep things safe for everyone.”
Although he went home this weekend to take his wife and son to the fireworks at Tempe Lake, the equipment operator was back at 6 a.m. sharp on Monday for the weekly safety meeting.
So far, those meetings are paying off, with only two relatively minor injuries being reported.
