Cuba — the "Route 66 Mural City" out at I-44 exit 208, just east of our St. James base — is an easy run up the interstate for us. From town lots along the old highway to farm-and-wine acreage out in the Crawford County countryside, we bring the full range of dirt work and in-house concrete to your project.
Cuba sits a short hop east of St. James on I-44, so Crawford County has always been a natural part of the ground we cover. From our shop, exit 208 is a quick, straight shot up the interstate — which means we can get a truck and equipment to your Cuba property without a long haul, and we can be out for a free, in-person estimate without much lead time. For a rural service-area contractor, that proximity matters: it keeps mobilization simple and keeps our attention on the work instead of the drive.
MB General Contracting is owner-operated by Matthew Buhlinger, with 15+ years of excavating, land clearing, grading, drainage and concrete behind us. We work for homeowners, builders and landowners around Cuba, and we handle both ends of the spectrum here — tight residential lots in and around the historic downtown, and wide-open farm ground and wooded acreage out toward the wineries and the county roads. One crew, the right machines, and concrete we pour ourselves.
Cuba is best known for its outdoor murals and the restored Wagon Wheel Motel along historic Route 66, and the town still hugs that old highway corridor where I-44 now carries the traffic. Away from the downtown grid, the area quickly turns to farm-and-wine country — pasture, cropland, small farms and vineyards spread across the rolling Ozark-border landscape north and south of the interstate. That mix shapes the work: an in-town lot might need a clean concrete pour or a drainage fix, while an acreage parcel needs a long driveway cut in, brush and trees cleared, and water routed away from a house or barn.
The ground out here is typical of the region — rolling terrain with clay and rock that varies from one parcel to the next, and enough slope in places that grading and drainage have to be planned, not guessed at. Rural properties often sit well off the county road, so access, driveway length and where the water wants to go are the things that drive a site plan. We read the lay of the land first, then build to it.
We cover all eight of our core services in Cuba and the surrounding Crawford County area. Here's how each one tends to show up on projects around town and out on the acreage:
Digging for footings, basements, ponds, building pads and general site prep on Cuba town lots and out on farm ground — with the dozers and excavators to move real dirt. Learn more →
Clearing brush, trees and overgrowth to open up pasture, building sites and fence lines on Cuba acreage, with a forestry mulcher for clean, fast work. Learn more →
New gravel or improved driveways for long rural approaches off Crawford County roads, plus regrading washboarded and rutted drives so they shed water and last. Learn more →
Driveways, slabs, sidewalks, patios and shop floors poured in-house — we don't sub it out — for Cuba homes and outbuildings. Learn more →
Grading, culverts, swales and French drains to move water off Cuba lots and away from foundations, barns and low farm ground that holds water. Learn more →
Walls to hold back slopes, level a yard or build usable space on the rolling ground common around Cuba and the county's hillier parcels. Learn more →
Trenching and installing water lines and utility runs across Cuba properties, including the long distances between a road, a well or meter, and a house or barn. Learn more →
Boring lines under driveways, roads and landscaping when open trenching isn't practical on a finished Cuba property. Learn more →
We cover Cuba. It's just east of St. James at I-44 exit 208 — an easy run up the interstate for us — so Crawford County has always been part of our service area alongside St. James, Rolla and Phelps County.
Yes. A lot of our Cuba-area work is long gravel driveways and rural approaches off county roads, out in the farm-and-wine country. We cut in new drives, build them up so they drain, and regrade existing drives that have rutted or washboarded. See our driveway grading page for more.
Usually, yes. On the rolling ground around Cuba, standing water is almost always a grading and drainage problem. We use regrading, swales, culverts and French drains to move water off lots and away from houses, barns and low farm ground. Here's our drainage page.
Yes. We clear brush, trees and overgrowth to open up pasture, building sites and fence lines, and we run a forestry mulcher for fast, clean work on wooded acreage. See land clearing for details.
We pour it ourselves, in-house — driveways, slabs, patios, sidewalks and shop floors. That means the same crew handles the excavating and site prep and the finished concrete, so nothing falls through the cracks between trades.
Call or text (573) 728-2550, or send your details through our contact page. We'll set up a free, in-person visit to look at the ground in Cuba, then walk you through the work. Being right down I-44, we can usually get out to you without much of a wait.
Cost depends on the specifics of your property — the size of the job, how much access there is, soil and rock conditions, how far material has to travel, and the materials themselves. That's why we look at the actual site first rather than quoting blind.
Free, in-person estimates on excavating, site work and in-house concrete — right up I-44 from St. James.
