Armory getting concrete parking for heavy machinery

Heavy machinery such as construction equipment and tanks are coming to the Keokuk National Guard Armory when a $323,000 project is completed around Labor Day.

A 70-by-85-foot section of the parking area behind the armory is getting an eight-inch concrete surface to handle the heavy machinery, according to Curtis Grant, project manager for First Construction Group, Inc. of Burlington, the general contractor. Another 100-by-40-foot portion of the parking lot will have a rock surface.

In addition, a 30-foot-long, 28-foot-wide concrete ramp is being built to load and unload the heavy machinery, Grant said.The machinery is stored now at the National Guard Armory in Mount Pleasant, which also is scheduled to get a parking lot upgrade. No bids have been let yet on the Mount Pleasant project. Once the Keokuk armory project is finished, the National Guard will be able to store heavy machinery at each location, Grant pointed out.

A trench drain also is being installed near the metal maintenance vehicle storage building behind the Keokuk armory to handle water coming off the building’s roof and the improved parking lot.

Five trees were removed during the work in Keokuk, and they will be replaced with five new blue spruce trees or some other variety, Grant said.