About
From their humble beginnings, Riley Bros. Construction now specializes in road construction, building site preparation, building demolition, land clearing, bituminous paving and sand and gravel work. The 1948 loader with which they started the business has given way to 175 pieces of construction equipment, which includes 19 dozers, 17 scrapers, 11 loaders, five cranes, eight backhoes, seven motor graders, 18 rollers and packers, 24 semitractor and quadaxle dump trucks, four service trucks, three water trucks and four utility trucks. Paul Leonard was their first employee, joining the business in 1976. The operation today includes equipment operators, truck drivers, laborers, mechanics, foremen, construction supervisors and office personnel. Riley Bros. first contract job was building Green River Road for the City of Morris in 1976. Their first state contract job was on Highway 27 near Hoffman and it took all 10 employees most of the season to complete the project. Since then, Riley Bros. have worked on huge jobs, such as rerouting seven miles of the Sheyenne River from Horace, N.D. to West Fargo, a project that cost more than $4.4 million. Perhaps Riley Bros. biggest project is one that area residents see everyday.