The City of Waukesha, Wisconsin, is accomplishing a challenging $5-million project to replace gutters, sidewalks and curb strips and create ADA compliant crosswalks on corners in a large number of neighborhoods in the city.

In all, the project will require a number of contractors with a wide range of capabilities, including State Contractors, Inc., which is making good use of Gradall XL 4100 V excavator capabilities on the project.

Gradall Versatility Advantages

Operator Dave Zisky drives the XL 4100 V excavator to the neighborhood where he’s working every day, typically with a grading/ditching bucket affixed to the boom and a pavement removal bucket on the machine’s deck.

“Having both buckets on hand helps me get different jobs done quicker,” said Zisky. The grading/ditching bucket pulls out the sod and vegetation on the designated corners, moving around rocks, signs and other obstructions with the full tilting, telescoping boom. Then, without assistance, he can easily change to the pavement removal bucket for pulling sections of curbs, gutters and sidewalks, reaching under trees and handling slopes and curves with the versatile boom movements.

“This is the perfect size machine to get into tight areas,” said Zisky. In some hard-to-reach spots, he also uses the grading/ ditching bucket to pour concrete. “I prefer the SAE boom pattern, even though I’ve operated Gradalls for 25 years going back to the G3WD models,” he said, noting that operators can switch to Deere or Gradall boom configurations using an in-cab switch.

To keep moving around corners and then to the next intersection, Zisky nimbly drives the XL 4100 V from the upperstructure cab.

“I have to move around a lot on this job,” he said. Being able to drive the machine at speeds up to 65 mph also helps him address jobs at different locations, and drive it back to the equipment yard at night without the need for a truck or lowboy trailer.

“On this job, I can leave the machine overnight,” said Zisky. “But on some jobs, I have to take it back to the yard because if I leave it, kids will paint it or break windows.”

“This is a pretty big project that will cover eight or 10 neighborhoods,” said Dale Buss, an engineering technician/inspector on site for the city. “It makes excellent use of the Gradall’s versatility and its ability to move from one neighborhood to another.