NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Marcus Williams is one of those boots on the ground, or gravel to be more precise.

As the trucks hauling tons of crushed stone continue to arrive at the future site of the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Hospital, it’s guys like Williams who are literally building the foundation for the state’s first free-standing cancer hospital.

Williams, his voice rising above the cacophony of growling earthmovers and churning cement mixers, said he and the 70 others donning safety vests and hard hats on Thursday afternoon are taking a little more pride than usual in their work.

Concrete workers, electrical workers, drivers and others – they are all keenly aware that their blood, sweat and tears through rain, snow and blazing heat is helping create a place where untold cancer patients will be cared for and the innovations in cancer treatment will be unlocked.

“This just isn’t another office building,” said Williams, who’s doing site work for the project for Branchburg-based excavators Vollers. “This is a cancer hospital. This is extra important.