Bartholomew County buying new vacuum truck for utility, ditch work

Bartholomew County will be buying a new piece of equipment to help crews excavate around underground utilities and clear pipes and ditches.

County Engineer Danny Hollander said that vacuum trucks are now commonly used for those sorts of excavations instead of digging by hand. The truck, which shoots water and removes the wet soil does not endanger the underground infrastructure. He said the trucks have replaced backhoes for many utility company uses.

Hollander made the request to purchase a used vacuum truck after receiving bids from four companies. One of the bids was for a new truck at a cost of more than half a million dollars, however he said he didn’t see the need for a full-priced unit. The commissioners approved the middle bid for a used unit at a cost of just under $186 thousand dollars from McCallister in Indianapolis.