Gustav Petersen settled in the Algona, WA area in 1905 and began working on highway construction projects. In 1953, he started his own highway guardrail company with his sons Mel and Roy. The company, Gus Petersen and Sons, was originally operated out of Gus’ garage. Two years later, Gustav retired and turned the company over to his sons. The company was renamed Petersen Brothers and moved to Roy’s house in Auburn.

In 1969, operations were moved to a new shop and yard in the small town of Dieringer, located between Sumner and Auburn. As Auburn and Sumner grew, the town of Dieringer slipped away. Eventually, Petersen Brothers expanded to encompass property previously occupied by the Dieringer post office and hotel. It was a prosperous time for the company. All work was performed west of Snoqualmie Pass. Roy’s wife, Marie joined the company and would travel from jobsite to jobsite to cook for the workers. Jobs averaged roughly three weeks in length and the company would shut down in the winter. Marie later described the conditions as living like gypsies.

Roy and Mel retired in 1979, selling the business to Mel’s son, Gary Petersen, who had worked for the business 23 years. Gary’s wife, Arlene Petersen came into the business to run the office. Geographically, work expanded further around the state. Concrete median barrier was added to the company’s scope of work in the mid 1980’s in response to a federal government requirement that road jobsites be separated from the traveling public by barrier to protect the public and construction workers. This barrier served a dual purpose by also reducing delays experienced when other trades and contractors were unable to complete their work in time for guardrail to be installed as scheduled.

In 1997, Petersen Brothers was successful in purchasing a competitor’s name, inventory and sales division. Besides the concrete median barrier inventory, the company also acquired plastic water barrier, construction site temporary traffic signals and electronic roadside message boards. The company moved into the building purchased just three years earlier.  The new office building was previously a middle school, which had been vacated by the Dieringer School District. A computer network was installed, allowing every staff person to have a computer for the first time in company history.

In 2001, a state-of-the-art mechanic’s shop was built for the repair and maintenance of equipment. The previous shop was converted to storage, vehicle body repair and a paint booth. All trucks, trailers and equipment are repaired, fixed and painted in-house.

April 1, 2006, Ron Gary Petersen (4^th generation) and his wife, Robin, purchased the business from his father and mother, Gary & Arlene Petersen. Ron has been active in the business since 1981. Petersen Brothers, Inc. now supports several office staff, yard personnel, mechanics, road personnel and a large fleet of trucks, trailers and heavy equipment.