38 Days, 45 Years

Written By: Mary Jane McCall | Issue: March 2025

Mike and Ryan Bryson

Bryson Grading and Paving has been transforming challenging mountainous building sites into the perfect canvas for their clients’ dream homes or businesses for over 45 years. These folks do it all from ground-up site prep, excavation, grading, septic systems, concrete slabs, poured walls, foundations, retaining walls, paving, bridges, utilities, and more.

Bryson Grading’s roots run deep in this community. Owner Ryan Bryson is a fifth-generation Highlander, having taken over the family business from his dad, Mike in 2012. Mike is still hands-on, but Ryan capably steers the ship and expanded the business to include concrete and paving.

Bryson Grading is the successful thriving business it is today because of their commitment to a job well done, and their deep connection to and love for this community.

In addition, Ryan says their greatest assets are their over 65 highly-skilled employees who are considered family. Several have been with the company for over 20 years.

Their roots are not only generational, but it’s safe to say that their blood might run a shade of motor oil brown as both Mike and Ryan grew up running equipment and tractors at the knees of Neville – Mike’s dad and Ryan’s grandad – when they were knee high to a grasshopper. Neville, who owned Bryson’s Gulf, started this company in 1979 with one piece of equipment when he agreed to help a friend prep the site for Highlands Plaza. From that small seed, Bryson Grading and Paving grew.

As you can imagine, Bryson Grading can move mountains for you, but as they recently proved, they can also build mountains as they sprang into action in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and rebuilt the destroyed portion of Highway 106. Recognizing that this road closure was a huge inconvenience for their community, Ryan says “we set an impossible goal for our employees on this job, and they exceeded it.”

From start to finish they completed this mammoth and treacherous job in 38 days, opening the road up on Christmas Eve – a Christmas present to the town.

With crews working nearly around the clock they first had to build a road to the bottom of the washout and position their equipment to start the work. From there they built their way back out.

Ryan stresses that the project was a community effort, and they were supported throughout by their subcontractors and suppliers, many of whom operated extended hours to allow them access to the materials needed.

Interesting historical note – this wasn’t the first time this family has helped their community when in a bind. In 1926 when the town was clearing for Lake Sequoyah the original contractor hired for that job was fired, and Ryan’s maternal great-grandfather, Roy Phillips, stepped in and completed the work.