Bove Industries is a privately held company with a current staff of approximately 100 office and field employees that work on Route 112 and other various projects throughout the Long Island and New York City regions.
Bove Industries was started in 1985 by the owner and current President/CEO Louis J. Bove. Located in East Setauket, N.Y., Bove Industries has developed into a major site-work and heavy/highway contractor on Long Island and over the past five years has become very active in the New York City construction market both in the private and public sectors. Its scope of work includes but not limited too; mass excavation, all types of underground utility work, concrete foundations, sheeting and shoring work. During the past two years the firm has diversified and ventured into the specialized field of directional drilling to add to its field of expertise.
Recently, the New York State Department of Transportation awarded Bove Industries a $38 million project for the reconstruction of Route 112 between CR83 and Route 347 in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. At the time of letting, this was the largest ARRA project released to date by NYSDOT.
This 3.2-mi. (5.1 km) long project has several components and when completed will improve traffic flow for motorists, improve pedestrian safety and eliminate roadway flooding, not to mention promote a greener environment for the community.
To improve traffic flow and safety, NYSDOT has proposed to widen the roadway to include center medians and turning lanes. The addition of a new improved traffic informed system will also assist the flow of traffic through many of the existing intersections that make up this stretch of roadway.
Water and drainage improvements are a significant part of this project. The drainage work consists of installing 30,000 linear ft. (9.144 m) of concrete pipe, and approximately 202 structures, some of which are placed to depths in excess of 30 ft. (9.1 m).
This work required the use of temporary steel sheeting, however due to the proximity of the existing overhead electrical lines and the inability to de-energize these lines for an appreciable amount of time, Bove and NYSDOT partnered to re-design the shoring system using the GME Slide Rail System. In order to complete the drainage work, the expansion of one existing recharge basin and the excavation of two new recharge basins were necessary; a total of approximately 60,000 cu. yds. (50,167 sq m) of material was removed.
“We would not be able to complete this job without the Caterpillar 365C excavator that we purchased specifically for this project. We did not own an excavator in this size range, and we knew that with 30-foot cuts, we needed a machine of that size. Once the shoring system was the re-engineered, this piece of equipment was crucial in the installation and removal of the GME slide rail shoring system.” said Sean Braat, Bove Industries project superintendent.
Due to the extensive amount of reconstruction work spread throughout the 3.2 mi. of this project Bove Industries elected to add to its fleet two Caterpillar M315 rubber-tired excavators.
“To keep the project moving, one of our key purchases has been the two Caterpillar M315 rubber-tired excavators. We could not afford the time or space necessary to transport track-mounted excavators from one end of the project to the other. The rubber-tired excavator can quickly navigate around the project and not impact traffic flow.” said Francesco Oliva, Bove assistant project superintendent.
With the placement of 73,000 (66,224 t) tons of asphalt covering approximately 80,000 sq. yds. (66,890 sq m) of RCA sub-base, Bove Industries elected to purchase the Caterpillar 12M Road-Grader equipped with Accu-Grade technology, which is compatible with Trimble GPS and Robotic equipment.
“The Caterpillar 12M Road-Grader is quite a machine,” said Jim Lehner, an equipment operator with 35 years of experience operating graders. “The machine has no steering wheel at all. Everything is operated by a joy stick. I’ve only been using this machine for a short time, but it has been a very easy adjustment. Visibility from the cab is much better than previous machines I’ve worked in. I can see nearly the entire blade. With no steering wheel there is no large console in front of the seat that blocks the view.
It is a vastly improved machine with a tremendous amount of pushing power. At times I am pushing over two yards of material effortlessly. It is overall a more comfortable, easier to operate, less exhausting grader than anything I have operated in the past.”
Cats on the Job
In addition to the equipment mentioned above, several other machines have been added to Bove’s expanded fleet of nearly 50 Caterpillar machines: Cat 328D track- mounted excavator and Cat 430E and 450E rubber tired loader-backhoes. “We have 21 machines currently on this particular project and on our other major projects throughout the NYC and Long Island Regions,” said Lehner.
“The majority of heavy equipment owned by our firm is Caterpillar,” Braat said. “It’s all about “down time” and with Caterpillar equipment with the service support of H.O. Penn Machinery, we rarely have down time due to mechanical malfunctions. With our large fleet of equipment parts availability and along service is extremely important. However, despite the amount of equipment our firm owns there are occasions that require us to rent a specific piece of equipment and once again H.O Penn is there to provide it on a moment’s notice.”
For more information, visit www.hopennmachinery.com. CEG
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