Ames Construction's Rocky Mountain Region's work includes highway projects.

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At Ames Construction, maintaining a safe work environment is the “No. 1 priority,” Rocky Mountain Regional Manager Tony Ames says. He explains that the company makes safety the responsibility of all employees at every level.

“We try to engage everybody in [safety],” Ames says, adding that the company reinforces its philosophy with daily and weekly safety meetings. “We try to keep our employees engaged on the task at hand, and focus on making safety a way of life.”

Based in Burnsville, Minn., Ames Construction specializes in heavy civil and industrial design/build general contracting services. Ames’ grandfather, Richard Ames, founded the company in 1960, and it has remained a privately owned firm ever since.

In addition to Burnsville, Ames Construction has regional offices in Phoenix; West Valley City, Utah; and Aurora, Colo., which Tony Ames manages. The company’s expertise includes airports, bridges, highways, rail lines, water-treatment plants, power plants and golf course projects.

The company says it also has experience in flood control, environmental site remediation, reclamation and landfill work, and has worked on some of the nation’s largest infrastructure projects.

“Our staff includes experts in many skills fundamental to our type of construction capabilities,” Ames Construction says. “This allows us to self-perform major portions of the work on our projects.”

Fully Equipped
To provide high-quality service to its clients, Ames Construction pays close attention to the maintenance of its equipment. According to the company, its equipment managers use computerized systems to track the status and maintenance history of all its major pieces of equipment.

In addition, “We maintain fully equipped repair shops at each of our regional facilities, as well as onsite facilities at large projects and remote sites,” Ames Construction says. “Our excellent maintenance program provides one of the highest equipment utilization rates in the industry,” it adds.

Rocky Mountain Construction
Ames joined Ames Construction in 1989. He says he has enjoyed the business, which has not only allowed him to learn strong work ethics, but also “see a lot of different parts of the country.”

Although the Rocky Mountain Region office is based in Colorado, its work has not been limited to its home state, Ames asserts. “Only about 25 percent of this region’s work last year was in Colorado,” he says, noting that the office also completed work in Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.

An essential factor in the Rocky Mountain office’s success is its staff, Ames notes. “[We focus on] maintaining and acquiring good people,” he says, noting that the company will recruit college graduates and train them in Ames Construction’s operations.

In addition, Ames’ office enjoys employee longevity.

“We have a lot of people that have worked here 20-plus years,” he says, adding that the company has kept its workers loyal with competitive salaries, good benefits and a steady work load, and by providing a progressive work environment. Ames Construction also gives its employees a voice in decisions, Ames says. “Everybody’s important here,” he states, adding that the company makes sure it listens to its workers, as well.

Building New Roadways
Ames notes that a portion of the Rocky Mountain Region’s work is comprised of highway projects. For example, the office is now at work on a $31 million project for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in Jefferson County, Colo.

For CDOT, the company is constructing a new 2,115-foot-long flyover bridge that will connect eastbound I-70 to westbound Highway 58. In addition, Ames Construction has also constructed a 26-foot to 42-foot tapered widening of an existing ramp bridge over Clear Creek.

Ames Construction is also at work on a new bypass highway on U.S. 59 in Ottawa, Kan., for the Kansas Department of Transportation. The project, which has a contract value of more than $43 million, will see the construction of 18 bridges and the placement of 4.5 million yards of embankment, Project Manager Eric Chiasson says.

Currently, the project is nearly 50 percent complete and will be finished by March 2009, Chiasson says. He notes that the largest challenges Ames Construction has encountered on site have involved weather and ground conditions. “What-ever days [are suitable for] work, [we] have to work,” he says.

Adapting and Adjusting
The Rocky Mountain Region has focused on adapting to environmental construction regulations. “We take environmental sensitivity very seriously,” Ames says. Although the process can be challenging, Ames asserts that the company’s willingness to adapt to these changes is critical. “To be successful in this business, you have to be environmentally conscious and work with the regulations that exist,” he says.