After a long time in planning and permitting, the shopping center North Shore Crossing in Beverly, Massachusetts, has broken ground, with CARLCO Construction performing site work, relocating utilities and capping off the former landfill, with the help of machine-control Topcon systems.

"The Topcon equipment saves us time, money, materials," says Peter Carlson, President and Owner of CARLCO Construction in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. "It makes our lives so much easier."

All CARLCO employees working at the site received 40-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response training. The work is taking place under the authority of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Landfill Division. The landfill has remained dormant since 1965. The property changed hands a few times. 

The current owner, CEA Group of Cambridge, Massachusetts, purchased the property about 11 years ago and has been working on redeveloping it ever since. The 66,000-square-foot project, ultimately, will be home to the first Whole Foods Market in the Cape Ann area. A bank, retail and restaurants are expected to occupy the other buildings.

CARLCO is providing a turnkey site package for the 6.5-acre site, which includes everything from removing trees to striping the parking lot. "We had to relocate a deep, 800-foot-long, 24-inch drain line, down about 30 feet," Carlson says. "Then we did cuts and fills." 

The company installed a large underground, 8-foot diameter corrugated metal drainage detention system. "It's all been done utilizing Topcon equipment," Carlson says. "We cannot live without it."

Before beginning the job, CARLCO sent the plans to a firm in Arizona, which built models. CARLCO uploads that model file on a memory card into the dozer's computer and the data collector on the rover. "That's what we base the layout from," Carlson says. "It's leaps and bounds faster than what we were doing years ago." 

CARLCO is using a Topcon GR-5 Rover system and GR-5 machine control on a Caterpillar D6 Dozer. The project is stake-free, except to mark existing conditions. "It's a very dynamic project with cuts and fills and lots of utilities," Carlson says. "The grades are critical, due to it being a prior landfill. We need to cap it with clean fill. It's important to get the right depth. The GPS is critical due to its accuracy. It's amazingly accurate."

The cap will protect the environment. Additionally the plan calls for collecting landfill-generated gas and dispatching it through pipes. The landfill was used to dispose of construction materials from older homes.   

The ruggedly designed GR-5 receiver features a multiconstellation 26-channel GNSS chip. It uses flexible and dynamic tracking for great accuracy. The device can receive signals from GPS and GLONASS constellations, and newer systems, such as Galileo and Beidou. The Topcon Fence Antenna offers superior reception, even in challenging environments. 

Carlson founded CARLCO in 2003 with a belief that the foundation of success is based on hard work, honesty, integrity and a dedication to excellence. The company performs commercial, industrial and other private site work in central New England. 

"We're family here with a great group of people who work together very well," Carlson says. "Topcon helps us do that." 

CARLCO first began using Topcon equipment in 2007 from Bunce Positioning Systems (now Topcon Solutions Store) in Stow, Massachusetts. Topcon Solutions is a collaboration of independent Topcon dealers in 10 states from Missouri to Maine. Technical support is available 24 hours a day, seven days per week. He debated for a week whether to purchase a robotic total station or the GPS Rover system, finally deciding on the early generation HyperLite system. It's a decision he does not regret. 

"It took off from there," Carlson says. "We bought a second system, the newer model GR-5, in 2012 with machine control." 

Carlson plans to add to his fleet a new dozer and an excavator, both equipped with the Topcon system. CARLCO exclusively purchases Caterpillar equipment but does not include the available machine control. His crews know Topcon and receive training each winter at the Topcon Solutions Store.

"Rich Farrell and the entire staff at the Topcon store are very helpful with service and support as needed," Carlson says. "The Topcon Solutions salespeople are knowledgeable and up to date on the latest information." 

CARLCO uses the Topcon systems on all projects from small to large. Carlson and his son Craig consider the system among the company's greatest assets, along with its employees. 

 "We have a great relationship with the Topcon Solutions Store and will always use Topcon," Carlson says. "It's an amazing product."