Victor Wallace, vice president of Wallace Company, combined the unique features of three Bobcat machines to complete the new community park for the City of Pensacola.
narrow bucket also minimized spoil handling. “With that bucket size, we saved time by not having to move so much dirt,” Wallace says.
Wallace’s crew excavated for maximum effi ciency, not only to meet the aggressive deadline, but to accommodate hectic traffi c and other crews in the confi ned worksite. The fi rst installation was a series of interlocking panels that formed a vertical root barrier system. Upon its completion, the E42 set a 2-inch electrical conduit in place to house power for new streetlights. It returned fi ll dirt to Wallace’s specifi ed elevation and installed an extensive drip irrigation system. “We made the most of each hole we dug,” Wallace says.
Greening the streetscape plan was the planting of 120 oak trees spaced 25 feet apart in the median and the right- of-way trenches. Like a skipper calling up his closing pitcher, Wallace brought in a Bobcat mini track loader equipped with a 36-inch auger attachment. The auger re-entered the trenches, shaping holes for the 48-inch root balls. Wallace assigned the E42 to work in tandem with the MT55’s auger due to the roadway’s challenging subsoil conditions. While the road contractor removed several layers of asphalt — at times 18 inches thick — the heavy-duty Bobcat auger tackled the existing base rock and unearthed some unexpected building supplies.
“We used the MT55 and the auger for the added cutting power through old ship ballasts that date all the way back to Pensacola’s port days when ballasts were taken out of the ships and used to build out the coastline,” Wallace says.
PEOPLE-PLEASING PLAZAS The T870 compact track loader stepped up to the plate to haul more than 80,000 brick pavers for the construction of eight separate walking plazas. Flanking each entryway street corner, the high- profi le plazas totaled 22,000 square feet, and were topped off with seating walls and raised paver planters. Engineered with a rated operating capacity of more than 3,500 pounds and wide tracks that increase fl otation under demanding loads, Wallace says the T870 easily transported base rock and pallets of decorative brick through the congested worksite — a distance of six city blocks roundtrip for each load.
“With the strength of the T870, we could move two pallets of pavers at a time instead of the older, smaller machines that could only pick up one. Its speed and effi ciency were key,” he says.
COMPACT VICTORIES By the time the Blue Wahoos’ opening pitch crossed the plate, all of the hardscapes had been wrapped up for several days due to a dedicated work ethic and Wallace’s smart equipment
choices. Adds Wallace: “Being compact, we were able to stay working the entire time alongside the road contractor and the paving crews.”
And the game? A capacity crowd of 5,038 fans saw their fi rst Blue Wahoos’ homerun in history, resulting in an exciting 3 – 1 win!