March 20, 2018

The Project Begins

Here we go! After talking about expanding our dealership's lot for over two decades, we're finally embarking on the journey to finish the lot next door. We're going to keep the "rocky" topography and create one of the most natural looking parking lot/structures in Bloomington. We're so pumped. The first phase in this project is to take out some old growth on the side bordering our current north parking lot. And don't worry--we're replacing the trees we're taking out at a nearly 3x1 ratio. Our plans call for a ton of green to be replanted once the lot gets paved.

Watching the operator of this equipment swivel his rig around in a fairly tight space was INCREDIBLE. The precision of this guy is amazing. I'd guess this guy is a pro's pro, and he's been at this for decades. The way he was able to maneuver his excavator around these trees and shrubs was amazing. Equipped with the rare "thumb" attachment, we operated the excavator's arm like a hand, grabbing the tree and pulling, tipping, and pushing it over. Then he'd grab the fallen tree and move it to the pile. Incredible to watch. I was probably 10 feet away from the edge of the tree line, and he gave me an up close look at his machine in action!

I've never been a part of a project like this, and I'm fascinated by the skill of heavy equipment operators. Theirs is truly more art than skill! I'm sure others will find this interesting, so I'll try to post more videos as this journey continues. The project isn't scheduled to finish until well into the summer, but I look forward to learning more about building and constructing unique designs and structures, as well as being able to provide a better experience for our customers. Royal South Toyota has been operating at "max capacity" for a long time, and I'm very excited to have more room and space to allow our customers the best possible automotive experience.