posted
on Monday, January 31, 2022
in
The Dirt
In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating a 41,000-mile national system of interstate highways. The bill was a boon to businesses such as Wickens Brothers Construction in Lewistown, Montana. Started by Thomas Wickens and his two brothers the previous year, Wickens Brothers built roads all over Montana until selling the company in 1982.
“My grandfather was always coming up with a lot of creative ways to find a competitive advantage and be more efficient,” recalls Ryan Durbin, who today runs Wickens Construction with his brother Casey. “For example, he’d add a disc in front of a motor grader and a roller behind it so he could use one piece of equipment on a small project.”