The Page County Highway Department, in southwest Iowa, is responsible for maintaining more than 900 miles of road (552 gravel, 158 dirt and 219 concrete/asphalt).
Their challenge?
Tackling smaller asphalt patching jobs; providing quality road maintenance and construction services to taxpayers.
Their solution?
Investing CAT Work Tools has helped them handle the job. The tools allow the Page County Highway Department's CAT® 320C Ls Hydraulic Excavator and the CAT 268B Skid Steer Loader to handle many specific jobs and the daily workload, which in the past required additional pieces of equipment.
"We look to maximize the usage of our machines," David Shanahan says. "These Work Tools do that to the fullest." The right tool, including the CAT Cold Planer Work Tool, also enhances customer service. "We can repair roadway surfaces and grind pavement bumps or pavement blowups that occur in the summer, in a short amount of time," Shanahan says.
"This helps Page County get the roads back into service sooner and minimizes driving hazards to the public." That is a direct result of the versatility and the effectiveness of the cold planer and other CAT Work Tools, he says.
Page Co. Hwy Dept buys versatile machines. "The CAT Excavator is probably one of the more versatile machines out there," Shanahan says. It is used for general excavation, tree removal – thanks to a shear work tool – ditch cleaning, pipe removal and installation, rock ripping and truck loading. Another versatile machine is the CAT 268B Skid Steer Loader. It loads trucks and operates a tree shear, grapple fork and cold-planer CAT Work Tool.
"As a county engineer, I look to Life Cycle Costing to ensure the purchase of the proper equipment," Shanahan explains. "It's not just about the lowest initial cost. It has to be reliable." The department also looks at resale value, parts availability and dealer support. "We have to look at all options and what keeps costs down after the purchase – and what benefits the county most from these machines," he says.
The Bottom Line
"There are more and more demands on the roads and road departments, so keeping pace requires innovative thinking and maximizing the return on equipment you have," Shanahan says. "You have to look at dependability, versatility and value when buying a machine."
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