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September 2 2026
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Vol. XXVIII • No. 18
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Originally expected to be completed this summer, the replacement Oglethorpe Bridge over the Flint River is now poised to open in the fall. The $33 million Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) project in Albany has been under construction for more than a year but was forced to shut down due to mandatory
CEG CORRESPONDENT
environmental sweeps and the relocation of more than 2,300 freshwater mussels. “An Atlanta environmental company came in and removed them,” Ricky Willis, president of Southern Concrete Construction Company, told Construction Equipment Guide. “Two or three divers would come in and swim all day. We couldn’t do anything in or over the water during that time.”
Southern Concrete Construction photo
Keep the Job Moving Why One Veteran Contractor Still Believes the Backhoe Earns Its Place On Today’s Job Sites.
Leaking hydraulic fluid from a piece of equipment and falling pieces of concrete are among the environmental hazards on a construction site that can kill organisms in the river. As part of the recovery effort, the mussels were placed in mesh bags before being moved to a safe habitat. A total of 238 were tagged as protected species, recorded and relocated upstream.
Jason Koon has heard the arguments for years. Mini-excavators are easier to transport. Specialized machines are more productive. Backhoes have become the cleanup machine parked in the corner of the job site. After nearly five decades in construction, Koon understands why many contractors think that way. He just believes they’re looking at the machine all wrong. Growing up in a family-owned contracting business before helping build one of the nation’s largest utility contractors, Koon has spent nearly five decades solving problems on utility jobsites. Along the way, he
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see BRIDGE page 2
estimates he has been involved in installing more than 2,000 mi. of pipe. Through it all, one machine remained a constant. “Every job I had, I always had a backhoe,” Koon said. “There was always one on my projects because I knew what it could do.” That philosophy continues to shape the way Koon approaches construction today. Rather than building larger crews, he has intentionally built his business around equipment that can take on multiple roles throughout the day. “I have more equipment than I do people by choice,” see BACKHOE page 4