BUILDING AMERICA FOR 100 YEARS

“A working lifetime as a road and bridge builder, beginning in 1914, gained for Toebe a statewide reputation for competence, integrity and selfless dedication to the highways industry and the good-roads movement. Walter Toebe & Co., one of Michigan’s leading bridge builders, has erected hundreds of bridges on state highway, county road and municipal street systems since its formation in 1922. While Executive Secretary of the Michigan Road Builders Association, 1943-1946, Toebe helped develop a code of ethics for the industry and a Labor Relations Division that became models for contractor organizations in other states. In the 1940’s, he also represented the road builders in a landmark needs study that led to sound financing for highways.”

– MDOT Michigan Highways Hall of Honor, 1974

In 1922, Walter A. Toebe founded Walter Toebe & Company, a small bridge-building firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Over the years, Toebe earned a reputation as one of the state’s leading contractors. Walter Toebe was instrumental in the formation of the Michigan Road Builders Association (now Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association), and served as a longstanding member and contributor to the organization. In 1960, the Company moved from Lansing to the city of Wixom when brothers Burton Stover and Richard Wells purchased interests in the business. Walter Toebe retired several years later, and as new owners, Stover and Wells shifted the company’s focus to the Detroit metropolitan area, where significant investments were being made in the area’s transportation infrastructure. The growing Company was immediately successful in obtaining several Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) contracts in Southeast Michigan to construct major portions of some of the main thoroughfares into the city of Detroit.

In 1975, the sons of Stover and Wells became shareholders of the Company, and the name was changed to Walter Toebe Construction Company. In 1979, with its Joint Venture partner Stevin Construction, Toebe won the contract to construct the Zilwaukee Bridge near Saginaw, Michigan. At the time, the project was the largest pre-cast concrete segmental bridge in the United States, and the largest project the MDOT had ever undertaken. In the 1980’s, Toebe completed a number of large prime contracts on the new stretch of I-696 in Oakland County, Michigan, and in 1991, secured a large contract to construct the U.S. Blue Water Bridge Plaza. Several years later, Toebe built the U.S. approach spans to the new Blue Water Bridge to Canada. Other notable projects completed over the years include the total reconstruction of the Davison Freeway (Detroit), the total reconstruction of the I-94 Dequindre Bridge (Detroit), the construction of the new Broadway Bridge (Ann Arbor), and in 2007, the I-75 Gateway Project (Detroit), which was another “largest-ever” contract awarded by the MDOT.

Toebe has continued to expand in size and scope, forming a mainline concrete paving division in 2009 and establishing a presence in Windsor, Ontario in 2010. Since 2009, Toebe has become one of the largest mainline concrete pavers, by volume, in the State of Michigan, having already completed a number of high profile projects throughout the state – most notably Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) Runway 4R/22L, 7.8 miles of I-75 in Bay County, and 7 miles of US10 in Midland County. Toebe’s first international project was the replacement of the Main Span deck of the Ambassador Bridge over the Detroit River, which links Detroit and Windsor Ontario, and shortly thereafter, Toebe’s newly formed subsidiary, Toebe Construction Canada acquired three additional contracts within Canada to construct portions of the Windsor Essex Parkway.

Today, building on its rich history as a leading heavy civil contractor in Michigan, Toebe specializes in the construction and rehabilitation of bridges and other concrete structures, as well as high-production concrete paving and excavation. Never shying away from a fast schedule or innovative construction method, and always adhering to the highest standards of quality, safety and integrity, Toebe takes great pride in building some of the most complex and challenging projects in the state. Toebe consistently DELIVERS EXCEPTIONAL VALUE to project stakeholders at every level.