The operator of a
Galion 850 motor
grader grades a new
road on East 38th
Street in Des Moines.
“One of the most important things to us is the service from the dealer providing the equipment,” stated Stowe. “Are they there only when they’re selling you a piece of equipment, and then you never see them again until you have another piece of equipment coming up for bid, or are they around and trying to help out?”
Braun’s street crews use the 12 Galion motor graders the city purchased from RMS for road rehabilitation, road building and snow removal. “The operators like the torque converter instead of having to use a clutch,” noted Stowe. “And they’ve held up very well for us.”
Boisen’s sanitation division uses two Komatsu WA250-3 wheel loaders, although they are often used by the street division.
Boisen’s street cleaning crews use 10 Elgin Pelican Series P three-wheel mechanical sweepers to keep Des Moines’ streets tidy. “That type of sweeper actually works most efficiently for us,” Boisen stated. “Particularly in the leaf season for picking up leaves and the sand. It does the best job with compacted material and wet leaves.”
“We also use them heavily for cleanup after our surface milling projects,” added Stowe. “We have material left that the conveyor doesn’t pick up. We use the Elgins to clean up better.”
The city of Des Moines Public Works Department has a fleet of 12 Galion motor
graders that are used for everything from snow removal to road building and
rehabilitation.
Versatile jet vacuum trucks
The city’s fleet also includes several Vactor jet vacuum trucks purchased from RMS. They are used for “the preventive maintenance deflection system, for the jet routing or cleaning of the basins,” explained Stowe. “We also support construction needs, such as sucking water out of an excavation after a rainstorm so Bruce can proceed with his work.
“We’ve also gotten into some spill incidents where you drive down along the curb and vacuum the spill up, which works nicely,” he continued. “And we’ve applied them as trenchless technology, using them as boring machines or jet routers. The Vactors have been pretty versatile pieces of equipment for us.”
Resources to meet needs
Bill Stowe said the most challenging aspect of his job as public works director is “dealing with an infinite number of needs with a finite number of resources.” Aging infrastructure and growing suburbs continue to put more pressure on Des Moines’ street, sanitation and sewer systems. Stowe and his team work with the city council to best use the resources available in a fair and efficient way.
“We believe the key is how you deliver the service,” concluded Stowe. “If we can be responsive to citizens, be responsive to the council, and be responsive to the policymakers who we all deal with, we’ll continue to be treated well in the appropriations process.”