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"We have nine miles of work through city streets and we have to be able to be a little like 'nomads' - go to work someplace for a few days, pick up and run down the street four blocks, work for a couple of days, then pick up and run down the street to another location," says Bob Fouty, senior project manager.

Being able to make those moves without bringing in transport vehicles is a huge benefit. "We can just basically run them through the streets," says Fouty of the wheel excavators. "It was really site logistics and the need to be completely mobile at a moment's notice."

As part of the project, Archer Western will have performed a complete reconstruction of all the utilities that will pass underneath the future rail line. "We had about 75,000 lineal ft. of storm, sanitary and water mains to replace as part of this construction," says Fouty. "And of course, those are all made up of runs that are 40, 50 or 60 ft. long. It's not one big, continuous pipe."

The rubber-tire excavators proved invaluable for this task. "We used them on all the utility relocation. That was kind of their duties," says Fouty. They were also busy tearing up pavement, sidewalks and curb and gutter, as well as moving Jersey barriers around the site. "For what we used them for, they were workhorses for us for two years."

Their mobility proved crucial to staying on schedule. "Here's an example of a situation we encountered over and over," Fouty cites. "We would be installing a utility - maybe it's a 12-in. water line that crossed Washington [Street]. During the course of the work, we would find an unknown utility. That work stops. You have to either backfill the ditch or shore it, cover it with plates, then be able to pick up and move up the street maybe a block and a half.