Before the bonobo’s new home could be built in Des Moines, 90,000 square feet – or the equivalent of two football fields – of earth needed to be moved. The job of moving mounds of dirt and preparing the ground for construction of the bonobo and orangutan homes at Great Ape Trust was entrusted to West Des Moines-based McAninch Corporation.

Moving soil, otherwise known as excavating, is routine for the company. But preparing the site for the largest great ape facility in North America – which would one day house bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans – was no ordinary job. It required a surprising amount of compaction considering the condition of the site, located in an old sand and gravel quarry.

“It was an existing sandpit so the material we had to work with to build the buildings’ foundation was all sand,” said Randy Cole, McAninch project manager. “In Iowa, we usually work with clay soils. In this case, we had to completely rebuild the foundation so that it would support the weight of the building.”

The excavation business extends far beyond simply moving dirt. It requires knowledge of soil moisture, ground contamination and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. In addition, McAninch uses Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to make sure that the big machines lay a level foundation. These computerized controls replace the old stakes and string that once showed machine operators where to grade and dig. The technology lets the operator monitor and assess the site throughout the entire digging process.

Cole said when workers began preparing the earth for the new buildings they discovered four to five feet of sand underneath a thin layer of dirt. To build foundations strong enough to support buildings, they moved fill in from other parts of the grounds, including soil they had removed for ditches and a pond. More earth was moved in to create a berm around the exterior, contributing to the buildings overall aesthetics and energy efficiency.

McAninch thrives by developing and integrating new technology into its business – applications that proved helpful when working on the site for Great Ape Trust. The Iowa Department of Transportation uses videos produced by the company to teach classes on new ways to excavate soil and identify ground with compaction problems. Company Founder Dwayne McAninch and his staff have also served on an advisory board for the Caterpillar Corporation and work with Iowa State University on soil technology issues.

Although McAninch is best known for its earth moving services, its staff also is busy digging ditches for pipe, an equally tricky job when the hardware is expected to last up to 100 years or more. Employees use their knowledge of soil type, moisture-related problems and other infrastructure experience to ensure longevity of the projects.

Contractors praise McAninch for its carefully coordinated system of moving large amounts of earth. Its large fleet of machines means the work can be done quickly; McAninch calls the symphony of trucks that moved dirt at Great Ape Trust “controlled congestion” because the vehicles were in constant motion. Because a core of the McAninch team brings at least 25 years of experience to each project, few problems seem insurmountable. The goal is simple: get the project done on time.

The McAninch Corporation, established by Dwayne McAninch in 1967, is one of the Midwest’s largest earthmoving and underground utility contractors. With a fleet of more than 400 Caterpillar machines, McAninch specializes in large-scale mobilization of equipment for mass grading work. McAninch is nationally recognized as one of the most technically advanced earthmoving contractors. Since the 1980s, the company has served as one of Caterpillar’s beta sites for testing new components and machine configurations. Typical private-sector projects include residential developments, golf courses, shopping centers, office complexes and power plants – a complete spectrum of end uses. In the public sector, McAninch builds highways, airports, and flood-control levies, often in co-bid partnership with other contractors. The company employs more than 400 people.

Great Ape Trust began as the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary in early 2002. In June of 2003, work crews began developing the former sand and gravel quarry near the Des Moines River. Located about five miles southeast of downtown Des Moines on nearly 230 acres of lowlands, river forest and lakes, Great Ape Trust of Iowa will be largest great ape facility in North America and one of the first worldwide to include all four types of great ape – bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans – for noninvasive interdisciplinary studies of their cognitive and communicative capabilities.

Great Ape Trust is dedicated to providing sanctuary and an honorable life for great apes, studying the intelligence of great apes, advancing conservation of great apes and providing unique educational experiences about great apes. Great Ape Trust of Iowa is a 501© 3 not-for-profit organization and is certified by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA). To learn more about Great Ape Trust of Iowa, go to www.GreatApeTrust.org.