G.R.E. update

Just came back from checking up on the G.R.E. project, the dirt moving is about to begin.  The contractor has cleared all the way to the headwaters of the river extension and is preparing to start excavating out.

Hopefully by Wednesday the contractor will be in full excavation mode.  The dirt removed in the picture above is being used to create a haul road over all of the swampy area in the easement CCN gave the County.  Once the road is built, the contractor's truck's will be able to back right up to the excavator.  When moving earth, in order to maximize speed and efficiency it is important to have to handle the material as little as possible.  This means when the excavator scoops the dirt it is best to put it immediately into a truck.  You do not want to make a pile and then have another machine come pick it up again to put it into a truck.  Like all things, the better the preparation the better the end result.  Once the road is in and the dirt starts moving, it will go very fast.

Here you can see why the haul road is needed.  The mud is about half way up the tracks of the excavator.