Cold Sweat Construction Workers At Sites Around The Valley Don’t Let The Bone-Chilling Air Keep Them From Their Goals: Complete The Job And Make Some Money

While others enjoyed the comforts of a warm office this week, Valley construction crews were getting the job done out in the bitter the cold.

At the Harvard Road Bridge construction site in Otis Orchards, a crew of eight was pulling the temporary work bridge from the Spokane River.

“This is the only place in the Valley that blows,” said crane operator Joe Sims, puffing out a mouthful of steam. “Boy that wind over the river really gets cold.”

But, he said, after about five minutes, he adjusts to the cold.

Sims layers his husky body with long johns, a T-shirt, a flannel shirt, jeans, coveralls and a heavy coat. His insulated work gloves do a decent job of keeping his hands warm but there are instances when he can’t move his fingers.

“Sometimes we’re in a position where you can’t move and that’s uncomfortable,” he said. “Like when I’m in a two-ton hydraulic crane that doesn’t have a heat source.”

There are challenges, unique to the winter, facing the red-faced workers. Keeping sluggish equipment running, removing ice from structures, loosening up stiff joints and fingers are all part of the job.

Some days, the ground is frozen 18 inches deep and the only equipment workers can use is a backhoe with tracks. It can chomp the frozen ground into boulder-sized chunks.

“We have to baby (the mechanical equipment) with heat ‘cause the stuff don’t move when it’s cold,” said Sims, a Valley resident.

At the bridge, workers recently had to warm the structure - from the single digits to 55 degrees - in order to pour concrete. The added time it takes to heat up equipment or chip away ice from structures often translates into overtime pay.

Sims and his co-workers are members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 370. Their pay scale varies according to experience, but Sims said he earns $20.50 an hour, or about $30 an hour for overtime.

Money is the incentive to push through the cold, workers said.

“Basically, working in the cold is a bonus situation,” said Paul Jump, who was laying footings for foundation work at Eagle Pointe, a new 140-unit apartment complex off Bowdish and Montgomery.

“You don’t wanna do it. You hate to do it. But when it’s over and done with, you’ve made a buck.”

Valley residents Jump and his partner, Marty McCammond, of Crete Masters Co. don’t earn quite as much as union workers but the payoff is still good. Both make around $12 an hour.

McCammond spends much of his time in three-foot-deep trenches, kneeling on the frozen ground. Though protected from the whipping wind, McCammond said it’s no warmer inside the trench.

“Seems like the ground likes to steal any heat you have,” said McCammond, bundled three layers thick. “You get conditioned to it. By the time you get numb, you just don’t feel it anymore. You just keep moving.”

Temperatures this week ran 10 to 15 degrees below the norm which is low- to mid-30s for this time of year. Temps must be a whole lot colder - 0 degrees or lower or when there’s high wind chills - in order for construction to stop.

Throughout the Valley, construction moved along this week at the Spokane Valley Mall; the Wal-Mart near Sullivan and Interstate 90; the Best Western hotel on Mission and Pines; the Whimsical Pig apartment complex at Mission and McDonald; the extension of the Northwood sewer line along Upriver Drive in Millwood; at the Evergreen Valley Retirement Center on Mamer off Evergreen, and elsewhere.

Bosses at the job sites can escape the cold in the trailers that serve as pseudo offices.

At Eagle Pointe, Marc Tripple, superintendent for American Home Builders Inc. of Seattle, peeks out the trailer door and stands, belly-first, awash in the sunshine.

“Are you kidding? This is nice,” he said. When he was working in Colorado, it was 2 below zero with 40 miles per hour winds. “There, you couldn’t even go outside. Look at us now.”

Tom Hulett, site foreman at the Harvard Road Bridge, looked over his crew. Hulett’s moustache was trickled with drops of ice, his face leathery, red and taut. The wind made his eyes tear up. But the weather didn’t faze the avid snowmobiler, skier and hunter. Hulett noted with pride that his crew hadn’t missed a single work day, even during November’s ice storm.

“You dress for it and press on,” said the Otis Orchards resident. “A guy’s got to pay his bills.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Photos (1 color)