Since 1946

 

J.R. Hayes Construction Co., Inc. is Northwest Tennessee’s oldest grading contractor and a producer of sand and gravel materials. We have been involved in projects ranging from driveways to interstate highways as both a prime contractor and a subcontractor. We are currently licensed in Tennessee and Mississippi and prequalified with each state’s DOT. We perform grading for site development, road and street construction, base construction, storm sewer construction, and tar and chip paving. We also mine, screen, and crush a variety of sand and gravel products which we will deliver to your jobsite or load on your truck at our facility. We are committed to safety, quality, and integrity. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage women and minorities to apply for any open positions.

The roots of Hayes Construction can be traced to 1927 when a young J.R. Hayes took a job as a laborer during the construction of the Alvin C. York Bridge over the Tennessee River at Perryville, Tennessee. J.R. continued in the industry the rest of his life. He worked as shovel operator on a number of levee projects along the Mississippi River. In the mid-1930’s he operated a trucking company with a number of dump trucks and traveled to the work. Late in the decade he worked for T.M. Strider of Nashville. While working for Strider on a project in Woodville, Mississippi, he met his wife, Mildred. During World War II he worked for Oman Construction Company of Nashville. While with Oman, he worked on a variety of large highway and defense projects, including highway projects in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the construction of Eglin Air Base in Milton, Florida, and the Milan Arsenal in Milan, Tennessee. He was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Award for his work in Florida.

When the war was over, J.R. decided to go into business for himself. In the early years he did several site grading, land clearing, and road projects as a subcontractor. He continued to grow his company aggressively and became heavily involved in clearing, stripping, and reclaiming for K-T Clay Company. About 1950, he moved his company and family to Paris, Tennessee, where it has remained to this day. Over time, he completed a number of large grading projects throughout West Tennessee as well as Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. The company built a section of Interstate 20 near Edwards, Mississippi, a section of Interstate 40 near Jackson, Tennessee, and sections of Interstate 55 near McComb and Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee.

 

 


J.R. Hayes, James Houston, and crew on a stripping project for K-T Clay in Carroll County, Tennessee.

 


Grading for Interstate 20 in Edwards, Mississippi.

 


Grading for a new factory in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

 


J.R.'s sons: Jerry, Lynn, Jim, and Jack

 


Clockwise from top left: Randy Barner, Jackie Denton, Roy Vassal,
David Sutherland, Jerry Gilliam, and Robert Denton receive awards
for their many years with the company.

He purchased an asphalt plant in the mid-1950’s and performed paving operations in several West Tennessee counties. The company also began its first base gravel crushing operations during this time period.

In the early 1960’s, J.R.’s health began to fail and he began to scale back his grading operations and concentrate on projects primarily within West Tennessee. In 1965 he sold his paving operations to Tennessee Asphalt Company of Knoxville. J.R.’s oldest son, Jack, went to work for Tennessee Asphalt as the superintendent of their Paris operations. His other sons, Jim, Lynn, and Jerry, became more involved in the company through the 1960’s and early 1970’s. During this time, the company performed large excavations for the Ethyl Corporation in mining titanium, and continued to mine gravel. When J.R. died in 1975 of a heart attack, the company was completing the widening of a section of US 79 in Paris.

After the death of their father, the second generation of Hayeses looked to expand their gravel sales by quoting it “in-place” on various grading projects. The company was awarded a subcontract by Wright Brothers Construction of Charleston for the base on a project in Weakley County and it lead to the development of base sales as the backbone of the company for years to come.

 

Throughout the 1980’s, 90’s, and into the 21st century, the company has placed as much as 300 thousand tons on dozens of projects in Northwestern Tennessee. They have also performed grading services on a variety of commercial, industrial, and governmental projects, ranging in size from a few thousand dollars to several million. The third generation of the Hayes family has grown up in the business. David Hayes, Matt Hayes, & Kevin Reynolds have assumed many of the day to day duties over the last two decades.

In 2008, the company added to its sand and gravel production with the purchase of Tennessee Asphalt Company’s washed gravel plant near the current base pit in Buchanan, Tennessee. This gave the company a variety of additional sand and gravel products to use in construction and to sell to the public.

Sixty-five years after J.R. bought his first tractor, his family continues to ply the trade he taught them, coupling new opportunities and technology with the traditional values of safety, quality, & integrity.

 

 


Mining gravel in Buchanan, Tennessee.

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