In everyday life, where people are working hard to create inclusive and welcoming spaces, the word ‘barrier’ can suggest a limit—a restriction. But when it comes to our daily commute, concrete barriers are a critical safety solution, without which travel would certainly look quite different. As a concrete barrier specialist, Blount-Sanford Contracting Company, Inc. knows that its work makes a big difference in the lives of road users and their loved ones.
While few of us likely give the importance of this crucial civil function a second thought, rendering concrete matrices that maintain their integrity for generations takes practice, skill, and expertise. Based in Lilburn, Georgia, Blount-Sanford Contracting pours concrete barrier walls on road and highway projects nearly every day of the year, primarily serving state DOTs as well as county governments across the American southeast. Crews are currently working in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida on a daily basis.
Extensive expertise
Blount-Sanford Contracting’s extensive offering includes reinforced and non-reinforced median and side barriers on highways, as well as barriers, parapets, and sidewalks on bridges that prevent traffic from spilling over the sides into other lanes or bodies of water. Moreover, the company supplies flared, vertical, and tapered back bridge rails. The team also provides additional textures and treatments to concrete to enhance the aesthetics of its installations.
The team uses sophisticated machinery to execute its projects. To ensure consistency over long distances, a mobile paver machine is fed with pre-prepared wall slip, rendering in situ slip-form work. This is finished by field workers following on foot as the machine progresses at two to three miles per hour—painstaking work performed in every kind of weather. “We take a lot of pride in the quality of work that we do. All of our employees have a lot of pride, and they know that their name is attached to the work,” says James D. (Jimmy) Greeson, President.
Initially founded as a concrete drain structure operation by Sandy Sanford in collaboration with Blount Construction in 1968, curbs, gutters, and mold-less concrete formwork followed. Sanford later bought his partner out, maintaining the firm’s good name for rendering strong and attractive concrete structures that end users can trust.
A valued team
Working across such a vast and diverse region means that field staff must cope with extreme temperatures, especially heat. To ensure their overall safety, the company provides its people with the appropriate PPE and hydration. Employing around 70 individuals—most of whom are out on the road performing this crucial work for up to 11 hours a day—safety is considered paramount across all levels of the company. Since they’re so well cared for, “the folks we have enjoy what they do and do a great job,” says Greeson.
Thanks in part to its robust benefits and remuneration, Blount-Sanford Contracting attracts and maintains a solid stable of hardworking people underpinning its reputation for quality concrete work. Benefits include a 401(k) with company matching; life, dental, and health insurance; a range of bonuses; paid holidays and vacation; and opportunities to work their way up in the company. Always ‘on the grow,’ the company is currently seeking more laborers, concrete finishers, and slip-form machine operators to round out its team.
Along with its range of capabilities, the scope of the company’s projects also varies. With one truckload of concrete rendering nine cubic yards, the team can execute projects ranging from 16 to 300 yards per day. “The project types we do range in size due to whatever the departments of transportation are bidding—the type of work they release,” Greeson explains. Arriving at the company in 2015, Greeson celebrates his first decade with the firm this year—10 years which have seen many proud moments.
Pristine projects
The team is currently collaborating on a large bridge project alongside Archer Western Construction and Traylor Brothers, an impressive structure that promises to become what has been called “the biggest bridge ever constructed in Florida.” Replacing the Howard Frankland Bridge on Interstate I-275, the replacement structure will cross Old Tampa Bay, linking St. Petersburg and Tampa, just as its predecessor did. Blount-Sanford Contracting is also collaborating with Lane Construction on an expansive interstate project on the outskirts of Charlotte, as well as some projects with Blythe Construction.
In an industry where Blount-Sanford performs such a niche role amidst so many other major project elements, coordination and scheduling of contractors is crucial. To improve workflow and mitigate bottlenecks, its area managers are well-versed in creating efficient systems. Greeson is full of praise for their sterling efforts. “We have four area managers who control the different areas and do the scheduling. They do a wonderful job,” he enthuses.
The approach seems to be key to the company’s longstanding success. With its local DOTs releasing consistent streams of work, Blount-Sanford Contracting is pleased and grateful to have established a steady revenue stream. And—while he admits it is a lot of hard work—for Greeson, the team’s resilience and commitment are a good match for the demands that come with such regular projects.
Such projects include ongoing work on Interstate I-85, which passes through Atlanta heading to South Carolina, where the team has completed multiple 6 to 12-mile sections over nearly half a decade—specifically a 27-mile stretch of work starting near Gaffney, South Carolina, heading toward the North Carolina border, which remains in progress. Blount-Sanford also recently completed work on the beautiful—and enormous—Pensacola Bridge project in Florida. “The bridge crosses Pensacola Bay and is absolutely gorgeous,” shares Gleeson. They put lights on it and light it up at night—that was beautiful work as well.”
Embracing innovation
What set the firm’s work apart on the Pensacola project—beyond outstanding workmanship—is a specialized stamp used to press patterns into concrete. Here, the team employed a wave-patterned print that adds a lovely artistic touch to road elements that would otherwise be notoriously bland. “That is something special that we partnered up for with a company called Slipstone,” says Greeson. While Slipstone holds the patent for the stamp drums, Blount-Sanford performs the stamping in the field. The collaboration is proving to be mutually beneficial while bringing a novel addition to the civil construction market.
Such innovation is something customers value tremendously—and they are not shy to say so. One customer notes, “Their staff is always professional and dependable. Their crews have the knowledge and resources to provide a final product that can be measured against the highest quality standards. In addition to their typical services, they have also provided [us] with technical advice for innovations that either reduced construction costs or durations.”
Another client, who has worked with the firm since the ’90s, had this to say: “Blount-Sanford has ALWAYS performed their contract obligations, doing exceptional work in a timely and professional manner. I will always consider Blount-Sanford when they quote work on a project, no matter the size.” It is this level of customer satisfaction that secures the company’s bright future.
For Greeson, the road ahead is clearly defined. Continuing to lead with dependability and consistency, the company’s aim is to remain the top barrier provider to every customer on its books. To achieve this, Blount-Sanford Contracting Company continues to trust its people to provide signature trustworthy service and friendly customer care that has made the firm the go-to industry legend it is today. “Our success is just based on our people. We have the best people in the business by far,” Greeson says with a smile.
