Ben Russell’s Post

It pained me to miss this operation. It was probably the coolest thing we have done in 25 months and I wasn’t there! Creativity, sometimes to a fault, is at my core. I love thinking outside the box so when we found a few issues I jumped at the idea of a pedestrian bridge. In fact, the engineer and city probably got tired us of asking about it. Finally, when we realized the boardwalk couldn’t happen and we pitched the financial viability of a pedestrian bridge to the city’s liking, we were off and running! Months of design revisions, Geotech reports, foundation designs, traffic analysis for our pick plan, abutment pours, etc. This was the day all our hard work paid off. However, the credit goes to Carson Tortorice, Bradley Appleton, and our field team for making it happen. A testament to those guys and my relentless confidence in them is that I can be on a trip 1200 miles away and the operation goes as smooth as possible. I’ve said it a thousand times…The hardest part of what we do is finding great people to join in the journey. Very blessed to work alongside some incredibly talented people.

The L in the PL got to come to work yesterday. As with all our new team members, he went through a rigorous testing process and he clearly checked out as a field guy….early riser, problem solver, passionate, hard worker, emotional at times, and great with people. It is days like yesterday that I smile thinking how far we have come in almost 2 years. I spend most of my time thinking about where we are going, but yesterday was a day to reflect on where we came from. As we approach the two year mark, I’m proud of the team that made it happen. The heart of our company is the original group that helped start it. The foundation is the group now that has helped get us to where we are. What’s next for this group? I don’t have a clue but I can’t wait to find out! Pictured: L working on our Ridgewood project. He’s standing on an abutment for an 80’ pedestrian bridge we are building. Yes we do that too. Also, I understand he doesn’t have correct safety measures. He’s stubborn like most field guys and didn’t follow the onboarding process correctly. I will expect a reprimand by the boss(his mom) on Monday.

Proud of the guys! A total team effort. A simple message my father has always told me is to "plan your work and work your plan." We had a solid plan and our field guys have executed flawlessly. Now let's keep the rain away for another week so we can knock this out!

PL Russell is excited to join ARBA and connect with a membership of leaders that inspire us each day! As a road builder from day 1, I’ve been privileged to learn so much from this group and I look forward to joining them in promoting our industry.

I was recently in a conversation with a friend in the construction industry and we were talking about PL Russell and what projects we were currently working on. I told him we were almost finished on a project that we laid a bunch of storm drain, poured boxes, etc. and he was totally confused. He thought our scope only extended to concrete. This was the point I realized that I had failed in telling our story. How does a good friend not know we do other stuff than concrete?! So, it is my mission to properly tell our story to our customers, future customers, and also just friends! Below is that particular project we discussed. PL Russell was a subcontractor performing various roadway and driveway crossings on a project in South Mobile County. We have enjoyed working as a subcontractor and are moving closer to completion.

Probably my favorite photo of our team. Effort, quality, dedication, prideful, etc. I can't find enough words to describe this group. How cool is it that they decided to build a makeshift tent in the middle of a rain storm to make it happen!

This line of work has been something I have really enjoyed doing with our company. Solving problems brings great joy to our team, especially when we can get creative with the process. The pad gets all the glory on this project but pouring 150 feet of a concrete flume with a building on one side and azalea bushes on the other is quite the task. Both had to be protected from concrete and the pour required a line hose. It was a very difficult process and as you can see, our guys knocked it out. Credit to the crew for setting the standard.

The difference between good and great is the refusal (at every level) to accept good. This is a prime example. Our team refused to leave until the product was to THEIR (not mine) standard. That culture of QUALITY is difficult to harness, and we are so lucky to have that view at every level. Credit to Ivan, Dustin, Christian, and the crew for grinding. Also, shoutout to the PM Carson Tortorice. He's the guy holding the light tower that is hanging from the tree so our team can make it happen!