Conn. Firm Tackles Big Projects Across Southern New England
In 1927, Dexter Mather founded D.P. Mather Company & Sons. Later known as Mather Corporation, the company started primarily as a material supplier to the Hartford, Conn., region. The source of the materials — primarily sand — was the company’s dredging operation in East Hartford, Conn., dredging sand out of the Connecticut River.
The second generation of Mather Corp. was led by Linwood Mather Sr., who continued working as a material supplier, but expanded operations to offer rental equipment and trucking. This was a booming period for Hartford and the surrounding communities of Connecticut: the defense industry, banking industry, as well as the insurance industry were growing at a significant rate. This created many opportunities for Mather Corporation to thrive performing a variety of work.
Installing shoring, excavating and removing all steam lines, along with
way, sidewalk and drainage upgrades at the University of Connecticut.
The third generation of Mather Corporation was led by Linwood Mather Jr., most commonly known as “Lin,” who led the company into a period of dramatic growth. He
demonstrated an ability to adapt and identify growth opportunities. Specifically in the roadwork and utility sector which tied well with the smaller size site work projects they had been performing. The transitional phase of third to fourth
I-95 Bridge Work Begins in Rhode Island
By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
Only weeks after the Rhode Island Congressional delegation announced news of a $251 million federal grant to fund the new I-95 15 bridges project, work is already under way.
“We are doing the first bridge of 15,” said RIDOT spokesman Charles St. Martin III. “It’s a design-build so by its
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Marine Terminal to Expand, Handle Larger Wind Turbine Parts
To cement Massachusetts’ position in the offshore wind industry, the state is expanding its first — as well as the country’s first — marshaling site at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal to handle bigger and heavier turbine components as several staging sites come online along the Atlantic Coast.
“This expansion is needed to maintain and increase Massachusetts’ competitiveness in the emerging offshore wind industry by providing facilities that will support the anticipated increased demand for port facilities that can deploy the larger, heavier turbine parts,” the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) said in a recent news statement.
The quasi-state agency in charge of operating the terminal noted that the expansion was informed by input from offshore wind developers, turbine manufacturers, and installation companies to meet the “evolving needs” of the industry.
The New Bedford Light reported Aug. 14 that MassCEC has committed $45 million to the project with an anticipated completion date of December 2026. The agency also plans to apply for federal grants and pursue funding from other private sources.
The projected growth, and a possible size cap, for future turbines, which now reach skyscraper heights, remains a debated subject within the offshore wind industry.
In June, the Light reported MassCEC reached three deals totaling $10 million to acquire abutting real estate formerly owned by major seafood companies.
Prior to that, the New Bedford news source had looked into the terminal’s future after MassCEC announced plans to use the state’s second marshaling terminal in Salem to stage components, which broke ground the week of Aug. 12.
Since the New Bedford terminal’s design and construction almost 10 years ago, a lot has changed in the wind industry: bigger specialty ports are up and running or are due to finish construction by 2026, and turbines have grown substantially in size.
Several months ago, MassCEC did not answer several questions from the Light on the terminal’s future — such as whether the facility currently has the capacity to handle larger turbine components — but has now acknowledged the site’s limitations.
“With the increasing size of both turbine components … the available area for component storage and turbine pre-assembly is a constraining factor for the [New Bedford] terminal,” according to a project page on the MassCEC website. “A portion of the terminal’s existing bulkhead/quayside area is not optimized, as one parcel is severely limited
A MassCEC spokesperson did tell a reporter from the Light on Aug. 14 that the terminal — in its current state — has the capacity to handle 13- to 15-megawatt turbines. The facility’s Vineyard Wind project uses 13 MW turbines, which is comparable to the capacity of other staging facilities available or under development.
Following the expansion work, the New Bedford terminal also will be able to support similar levels of inbound and outbound vessel movement as the other East Coast staging facilities, the state agency noted.
MassCEC CEO Emily Reichert said the expansion will “position the site as a longterm clean energy asset.”
Terminal Expansion Will Create Marshalling Site
The expansion project at the New Bedford marine terminal will occur in four phases, the Light reported, and is set to include demolition, soil remediation, bulkhead redevelopment and extension, and construction of new office and warehouse space for developer tenants.
MassCEC’s existing lease with Vineyard Wind runs until Dec. 31, with the option to extend it another 90 days.
Some of the construction will occur while
and demolition of existing buildings could get underway later this year.
Per a MassCEC spokesperson, the “majority of the facility” will remain available for Vineyard Wind or other tenants, including the terminal’s approximately 20acre heavy-lift laydown and docking area.
When construction is completed, the available heavy-lift storage area will have been enlarged to a total of 26 acres, and increase the total heavy-lift quayside to 1,200 ft.
“The Port of New Bedford has long been a maritime leader in America, and the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is now playing a pivotal role in launching America’s next major maritime industry: offshore wind energy,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a statement. “The support of the Healey-Driscoll Administration solidifies New Bedford’s enduring leadership and positions it well to attract follow-on investment.”
SouthCoast Wind Plans to Take Control in Five Years
When asked if MassCEC has a developer in line to lease the terminal once Vineyard Wind does vacate, an agency representative told the New Bedford news outlet earlier this year that the focus in 2025 will be on the improvement and expansion project, noting that the work will not prevent use by an offshore wind developer or other potential tenants.
Though the facility is purpose-built for offshore wind, for years it found other work with cargo and shipping as early projects awaited requisite federal and state approvals.
SouthCoast Wind signed a lease with MassCEC in April, and a spokesperson for the developer previously told the Light that the company plans to take control of the terminal in 2029.
That company also plans to utilize larger turbines than those used for Vineyard Wind, which is installing blades the length of a football field.
SouthCoast Wind has so far invested $15 million in the New Bedford terminal, which Michael Brown, the CEO of Ocean Winds North America, SouthCoast Wind’s parent firm, said “demonstrates our commitment to the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal for component [marshaling], and, more importantly, the resulting economic benefits that will come to the region from our project.”
“As the offshore wind industry grows and expands, so does Massachusetts’ port infrastructure,” added Gov. Maura Healey in a statement following MassCEC’s announcement.
“Throughout its history, the Port of New Bedford has served as a nexus of New England’s economy, from whaling, to fishing, to offshore wind. The investments in and expansion of the port will help maintain Massachusetts’ global leadership in offshore wind.”
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center map
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Mather Corporation Leads in Heavy/Civil Construction
MATHER from page 1
generation took five years, during which the company performed many sizeable earth projects, in excess of 100,000 cu. yds. This was a busy time in Connecticut and the private sector needed warehousing, shopping malls, and manufacturing facilities.
Today, the company is a leader in the heavy/civil construction market in southern New England, tackling some of the most challenging projects in the region. Mather Corporation’s experienced manpower, modern equipment fleet and depth of experience within the project management and estimating department have contributed to Mather Corporation maintaining its position as a market leader. A
variety of projects comprise the job history of the past couple of years. Several sizeable utility projects involving the installation of steam lines in sensitive environments, sitework of all scale, and roadwork.
Mather Corporation has been involved in some of the most technical projects in the Hartford area where conditions dictate working in a confined city environment. Specifically, the State Office Building Garage project included deep excavation in rock and hazardous material excavation. The conditions also required a variety of different shoring methods be utilized. The ever-changing conditions challenged all involved and Mather performed flawlessly.
Mass excavation projects have become an important segment of the company’s portfolio. With the construction of warehouses and sizable institutional buildings, Mather Corporation was able to gain significant market share through creativity, hard work, and professionalism.
Today, the fourth generation of Mather Corporation is led by brothers Todd and Woody Mather, who took the reins of the company in 2000. The day-to-day operations are led by Todd and Woody along with a well-seasoned management team, most of whom have more than 20 years of experience.
Todd Mather, president, works closely with and oversees the accounting, estimating and project management staff. His ability to administrate and communicate effectively with the staff has reinforced the company’s sound reputation of being a strong and consistent organization.
see MATHER page 12
CEG photo
Marshall Benware (L), representative of Able Tool and Equipment and Cory Brulotte, Mather Corporation superintendent.
Mather Corp photo City of Hartford, Conn., project including sidewalks, full-depth roadway reconstruction and electric upgrades.
CEG photo
Mather Corporation uses H.O. Penn and Caterpillar equipment for its larger excavation needs.
Mather Corp photo
Woody Mather (L), vice president, and Todd Mather, president, both of Mather Corporation.
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Mather Balances Mix of Public, Private Project Work
Having a long history in estimating and project management, he has a keen eye for identifying projects Mather can be competitive and successful on so it continues to be a topnotch contractor in the industry. The company holds many certifications to make it a viable candidate for bidding in an ever-changing market.
Woody Mather, vice president, focuses primarily on operations, customer relations, business development, and purchasing. As the construction market in Connecticut continues to change and expand, the need to grow staff is a daily goal. Woody focuses on supporting corporate goals by recruiting the best in the industry. As he says,” every individual in this company is a valuable asset and my role is to help them improve so we all improve as a team.”
Under current leadership, Mather Corporation is able to balance a mixture of public work and private work for its clients. It can accommodate all aspects of the heavy civil market, including schools, roads and utility infrastructure, all while keeping the company agile enough to also compete on smaller, intricate projects for its clients. The majority of the company’s work is in Connecticut, but under the right circumstances it will tackle projects in western Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Looking toward the future and keeping with tradition, there is now a fifth generation of Mather family members that are being introduced to the company.
Technology and staying abreast with it is a responsibility that falls to Woody.
“In the last 10 years, technology has grown so fast that it’s difficult for one individual to stay on top of it, which you need to do to make informed decisions that will move our company in the right direction,” he said. “Currently, we are using a team approach, typically
”Every individual in this company is a valuable asset and my role is to help them improve so we all improve as a team.”
Woody Mather Mather Corporation
myself, my brother Todd and Cory Brulotte, our superintendent. We evaluate what technology is available; should we make the investment; and if we do make the investment, should we be looking at purchase or rental?”
When asked about current market conditions, Woody said, “The infrastructure bill that was passed a couple years ago is starting to have an impact. It has taken some time for the money to trickle down to the authorities that will actually release the projects and spend the money. We have seen a lot of towns that have had projects on the books for years now ready to schedule those projects as a result of the federal matching funds.”
Currently, the company is involved in a number of projects, doing a large variety of work, including Trinity College, where it has been working continuously on expansion and improvement projects. The college has been a Mather Corporation customer for decades. This year’s project is the south campus utility plant and installing 4,000 ft. of underground chilled and hot water pipe.
At Bulkeley High School, Mather has removed 75,000 yds. of material and is working on a variety of groundup improvements. Structural excavations, storm water and sanitary improvements, and a variety of site finishes are abundant around the site. A significant piece of the exterior improvements includes the installation of a new synthetic football field, track
see MATHER page 16
MATHER from page 6
CEG photo
A Canyon site dumper on site at Trinity College has proven to be critical in moving materials in confined spaces.
Mather Corp photo
Using specialized machines for reaching confined spaces at Trinity College.
CEG photo
Mather Corporation is doing concrete and site work at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
Major R.I. Bridge Work Begins After Record Federal Grant
BRIDGES from page 1
nature it’s already begun. They are mobilizing, preparing and gathering material. It’s a very long project, addressing 15 bridges over seven years, so it goes to 2031.”
The federal grant, the largest ever awarded to RIDOT, “will remove 15 bridges from the state’s backlog of poor and fair to poor condition bridges along I-95 and Route 10 between Providence and Warwick,” St. Martin said.
Nine of the bridges are structurally deficient with three rated among the top five most traveled structurally deficient bridges in Rhode Island.
“The project will take a major step in addressing the I-95 corridor holistically, to encourage the safe movement of almost 200,000 vehicles and $9.7 billion in freight. About 9,000 trucks and heavy freight vehicles use this corridor, which includes hospitals, businesses and universities, daily,” St. Martin said.
The $779 million project was awarded to the design-build, joint-venture team of Skanska, McCourt and Aetna Bridge.
The first project will replace the bridge on southbound Route 95 over Elmwood Avenue in Providence. Using a rapid bridge construction technique, crews will do half of the project one weekend and the second half the next weekend. Traffic will be restricted on that portion of I-95 as crews demolish the existing bridge, then lower prefabricated units into place. They’ll close any gaps, pave the deck and reopen to traffic.
RIDOT did a similar bridge replacement less than a mile away in 2023.
“They generally start on a Friday and are usually done by Monday morning,” St. Martin said. “Last fall we did a series of four weekend closures. That worked very well. There’s some traffic congestion on the weekend, but it enabled us to replace the bridge in such a fashion, it did not affect weekday traffic.”
Work to replace the bridge on northbound I-95 over
Using a rapid bridge construction technique, crews will do half of the project one weekend and the second half the next weekend.
Elmwood is scheduled for two weekends in November.
The project will see the repair or replacement of 11 bridges, as well as the removal of four bridges, St. Martin said.
“One of the bridges is part of an old right-of-way for our electric company here in Providence. It’s no longer needed or used so it will be filled in. There are three other bridges that won’t be needed because we are redesigning the Route 10 and I-95 interchange.
“As part of the design, Route 10 forms what is called the Huntingdon Viaduct that runs across I-95, train tracks and a local road. That’s going to be reimagined. That removes two bridge onramps. There’s a portion of Route 10 that will be rebuilt as a boulevard. At the end of that road where it reaches Park Avenue [Route 12] there is a bridge there because now it functions as a highway, but with the new design we won’t need that bridge.”
In addition to the $251 million federal grant, RIDOT will fund the project through a combination of other federal formula funds along with state matching funds.
“These bridges were programmed in our 10-year state transportation improvement plan,” St. Martin said. “We chose to apply for this grant to address bridge conditions and also to make a number of other improvements. We’ve bundled a few different projects together that had already been planned into a larger project.”
According to RIDOT the project will:
• Reduce the number of bridges rated poor by 7.6 percent;
• Reduce the total deck area of bridges rated poor by 17.5 percent;
•Remove permit restrictions affecting the majority of all truck freight;
• Improve the flow of 45.2 billion tons of truck freight annually; and
• Eliminate three of the top five most travelled structurally deficient bridges in the state. (Photos courtesy of RIDOT.)
Mather Consistently IDs Market Sector ‘Sweet Spots’
MATHER from page 12
and natural turf softball fields. Inside the existing school framework, Mather crews trenched more than 7,000 ft. of under slab utilities, utilizing a fleet of small to mid-size excavators and skid steers. The Bulkeley High School project is a $27 million job and will last two years.
Controlling the company’s rate of growth and anticipating market conditions are critical to Mather Corporation.
“We are constantly identifying market sectors that fall within the sweet spot for our company size,” Woody said. “We are certainly not small, but neither are we one of the giant construction firms. The size we are at right now gives us the ability to be flexible and adjust to market conditions. We take pride in our ability to find key employees who typically stay with
us a long time, due in part to creating a good working atmosphere and maintaining a high level of enthusiasm among our employees.
“There are two aspects of our company that are critical to our success, our employees — many of whom have been with us for decades — and our equipment fleet. The primary supplier, almost exclusively, of mid-size and large equipment is H.O. Penn and Caterpillar. For our compact equipment needs and specialized tools we rely on Able Tool and Equipment.
“Derek Bauer and his team at Able Tool and Equipment are a valuable resource to our company. They are flexible enough to take calculated risks and put new niche pieces of equipment out there, which sets them apart from their competitors. Our relationship with Derek, president
MATHER page 18
CEG photo
A Wacker Neuson compact excavator, purchased from Able Tool and Equipment, is being used at the Bulkeley High School project.
CEG photo
A Wacker Neuson compact wheel loader with broom is used to clean up roadways at the Bulkeley High School project.
Mather Corp photo
Bulkeley High School in Hartford, Conn., underground utility duct backfill located inside the west wing of the school.
CEG photo
A view of the athletic field at Bulkeley High School, part of a $32 million project.
Mather Corp photo
Bulkeley High School in Hartford, Conn., excavating near the athletic field.
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Able Tool Assists Mather Corp. With Its Equipment Needs
of Able Tool and Equipment, goes back before he started his company.
“As a representative of a major rental chain, decades ago, Derek demonstrated the ability to work closely with our team and identify areas where a project could be expedited using rental equipment. Derek has always had a reputation for honesty, hard work and integrity, exactly the things that we look for in a supplier. When Derek started his own equipment company, we immediately became a customer. We have been doing business together since the early ’90s. I like to think that our two companies have risen together.
“The breadth and scope of equipment that we can get from Able Tool and Equipment today is impressive…”
Woody Mather Mather Corporation
unloaded instead of backing out, which can be dangerous, the operator can swivel the seat in the other direction and drive out of the site.
“The breadth and scope of equipment that we can get from Able Tool and Equipment today is impressive and their knowledge of the industry and equipment is critical to us. We use Able Tool and Equipment in a wide variety of scenarios that we encounter in the heavy civil market: electric machines when emissions are an issue, specialized tools, compact machines and any type of compaction equipment imaginable.”
Reflecting on the history of the two companies’ relationship, Bauer said, “Over the years I have been impressed with Mather Corporation’s ability to adjust to market conditions. More than once I have seen them rescale the company to adjust to challenging business climates, and yet maintain the level of excellence in their work. When the market returns, they are able to quickly retool and increase the size and scope of their operation. They also have a reputation within the industry for being very easy to work with. As a result, they often find themselves working for or with New England’s largest construction firms. Their reputation for honesty, hard work and integrity precedes them wherever they go.”
According to Cory Brulotte, Mather Corporation superintendent, “We often use Able Tool and Equipment’s rental fleet to determine if a piece of equipment is something that we should look at to be added to our fleet. Currently, we are using site dump carriers provided by Able Tool and Equipment at the Trinity College site. This is our first year using this type of equipment, but with the confined space projects that we work in, we are finding them very useful. We are currently working on a site at Trinity College that is so confined that wheel loaders and dump trucks cannot access the area. We can move up to four yards of material into a tight spot and when the operator has
“We utilize Able Tool and Equipment when we are looking to purchase or rent compact excavating machines. There has been a trend in our industry toward using compact wheeled excavators. We purchased a Wacker Neuson EW65 after doing extensive research. Using these wheeled machines, we can work in areas where we have as little as nine feet of operating space.
“With the zero-tail swing and tremendous reach, our Wacker excavators never seem to come off the job. We have found a lot of practical applications for the machine and thus far it has been bullet proof. We’ve had no issues with it at all. With the Wacker wheeled excavators and tracked excavators that we have purchased, the lifting capacity has been impressive. Things like granite curbing and catch basins are extremely heavy and the Wacker machines have been up to the task.”
“We were introduced to Wacker by way of their small compaction equipment, which has always been very reliable for us,” Woody added. “Wacker has experienced massive growth in their product offerings over the last several years. Deciding to make the investment in Wacker excavators was in part due to Derek facilitating the opportunity to dialogue directly with Wacker as needed. That has given us an increased level of confidence in buying Wacker earthmoving products.
“Sometimes you can get lost in the crowd when you work with large chain rental companies. With Able Tool and Equipment, I can have direct conversations with the owner and know that we are on the same page and are looking out for each other’s best interests. Able Tool and Equipment guides us in making solid decisions.”
For more information, visit www.abletool.net and www.mathercorp.com. CEG
