Grundy County Board approves $49,500 for used Gradall excavator

The Grundy County Board approved a $49,500 purchase of a Gradall excavator purchased from Kankakee County through an auction.

County Engineer Eric Gibson said the purchase has already been made, and the used 2004 Gradall is replacing a 1989 model that went up in flames with a county employee driving it back in May.

“The cost of potentially fixing it is way outside, way exceeds the cost of the equipment itself,” Gibson said.

Gibson said it’s used for pipe culvert, removals, replacements, and some ditch cleaning. It’s equipment used whenever there’s flooding and it’s also used to get corn stalks out of the ditches and culverts.

Replacing the Gradall with a new one would’ve cost somewhere around $550,000 to $585,000.

Gibson said the county is looking into selling the old Gradall for salvage.