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PACIFIC NORTHWEST EDITION

December 22 2019 Vol. II • No. 26

A Supplement to:

“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”

Your Pacific Northwest Connection – Patrick Kiel – 1-877-7CEGLTD – pkiel@cegltd.com

Crews Working to Build a Safer A Street in Rainier, Ore. By Lori Tobias

CEG CORRESPONDENT

Street improvement projects often make travel safer, and that’s certainly the number one factor driving work on Rainier, Ore.’s main street. But the $12.2 million project also comes with the added bonus of the total transformation of the city’s downtown from two lanes of cracked asphalt bisected by railroad tracks to a new streetscape with ADA compliant sidewalks, new crosswalks, updated railroad gates and signage, and most importantly, the “daylighting” of the existing railroad tracks. “The project will create oneway roads on either side of the track with curb and gutter separating the track from the roadways,” said Lou Torres, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) spokesman. “This will eliminate the asphalt road surface over the track, exposing the railroad ties and aggregate base. This is called day-lighting the track.” To lift, line and tamp the tracks, contractors use a Mark IV pronounced “Mark Four” Tamper. “Jaws on the machine clasp the rail and lift it in the air,” Torres said. “It is then shifted left or right based on need. Once in proper line and elevation, tamper work heads plunge into the ballast and vibrate the ballast consolidating it around the tie. This then holds the track in place. The buggy out front measures track alignment and relays the information back to the main body of the machine. This is how the operator knows which direction the track needs to move.” For trench excavation, workers are operating Link-Belt 245 X4 excavator and a John Deere 50G

compact excavator for backfilling. The project on A Street is nearly 13 years in the making and involves multiple entities, including ODOT, the city of Rainier and the Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) with funding coming from nine different sources. “The A street project is an unusual project and kind of unique from a lot of different standpoints,” Torres said. “It involves working very closely with the railroad, the city and some other key players. It’s a city of Rainier project, but ODOT really got involved to administer the different contracts

that were involved in the project. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a project in my years at ODOT that we got money from nine different sources. You can see there were a lot of players, a lot of skin in the game, a lot of commitments from a lot of different people to make it happen. Thirteen years — there are reasons for that. When all the agreements are put together, it took time to get them approved. It is a very complex project. It was much longer than normal for project approval.” Funding for the project included $2 million from ODOT’s Rail and Public Transit Division; $2.9 million from a Connect Oregon grant with $750,000 from PNWR for the required 20 percent match and $2 million from the state Regional Solutions fund and $1.9 million from the city of Rainier for utility upgrades and relocations, freight mobility improvement and new off-street parking.

Staging began in August 2018, with construction beginning in September 2019 and completion set for 2020. “We had a public meeting during the summer,” Torres said. “It was an open house with PNWR, ODOT, the city. Everybody was there. It really attracted a lot of people. We’re really excited about the energy of the people coming to visit and find out about the project. That whole A street area, not only was it unsafe because the way the railroad crossed right down the middle of the street, but also the asphalt and driveability was getting really poor. It was a safety hazard for freight, autos, bikes, pedestrians … you basically could back up your car and go over the rail line. It was really part of the road essentially, so that really made it a hazard.” The project covers an eight-block

Thompson Brothers Excavation installs a storm sewer line.

Stacy-Whitbeck Inc. works on installation of the rail.

see RAINIER page 2

Page 2 • December 22, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

SEATTLE/TACOMA 253.722.5560 SPOKANE 509.534.1900 MT.VERNON 360.488.3948 PORTLAND 503.254.5100 BEND/PRINEVILLE 541.447.5293 EUGENE 541.342.7700

Tacoma LNG Site Gains Permit Approval

The project on A Street is nearly 13 years in the making and involves multiple entities, including ODOT, the city of Rainier and the Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) with funding coming from nine different sources.

Nine Unique Sources Help Fund Facelift of Rainier’s Main Street RAINIER from page 1

section and includes upgraded and relocated utilities, new street lights and new parking, the latter a solution to a problem that could have made the project controversial at best. “Because this project redesigns the whole area, we had to take out some of the parking that the businesses had over many years, but we had to do that to fit in the curbs and all,” Torres said. “The city came through with a plan that they would add off street parking. They built a parking lot downtown that

allows people to park there. That was really important. We’re extremely excited to get to this point where we can see this really transformational project happen now.” The contractors on the project are railroad contractor Stacy-Whitbeck Inc.; Advanced Excavation Services, which did the early pipe package and the waterline installation for the city of Rainier; Thompson Brothers Excavation, which is the prime contractor on the ODOT portion of the project.  CEG

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas facility at the Port of Tacoma in Washington state has cleared a final construction hurdle. The News Tribune reported the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency announced that it had completed its review of the facility’s notice of construction application, including public comments. The agency said it made a final determination that the proposal meets all the requirements agency regulations and should be approved. In a separate statement executive director Craig Kenworthy also said approval of a permit application “is not an endorsement of a project” and that there are issues around the proposal that they are not authorized to pass judgment on including water quality impacts and offsite safety issues. Puget Sound Energy, in an emailed statement to The News Tribune, said they appreciate the agency’s work, saying now they can move forward on the facility. The Puyallup Tribe of Indians’s tribal council said in a statement it is disappointed in the agency’s decision, will review it and determine what action to take. Sierra Club campaign representative and Power Past Fracked Gas coalition co-director Stephanie Hillman called the approval unacceptable and said that the groups would continue to fight against it. The Port of Tacoma applauded the decision, saying their commitment to reducing air emissions and creating a safer environment for their community remains a top priority. Appeals on the decision would be heard by the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board in Olympia. 

Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 22, 2019 • Page 3

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Page 4 • December 22, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Pacific Tractor, FAE USA Hold First Power Demo Day in Ore. A PTO driven SFH 250 forestry tiller/mulcher kicks up some serious dust as it easily grinds stumps during the demo.

Chris Willson of Willson Excavation and Forestry Mulching based in the Nashville, Tenn. area, shares some of his insight on the Prime Tech forestry mulchers with event attendees.

Chris Willson of Willson Excavation and Forestry Mulching puts on quite a show of the extreme capabilities of the Prime Tech PT-300 forestry mulcher.

Pacific Tractor and Implement in Hillsboro, Ore., partnered with FAE USA and recently hosted their very first Power Demo Day. “The goal was to introduce attendees to FAE products and their capabilities, and to offer them alternative ground control methods.” said Corey Achziger, Pacific Tractor’s general manager. The event was a great success. The FAE machines performed remarkably, and attendees were able to fully experience first-hand the power behind FAE products. Dozens of people also were able to get some hands-on demo time on various sized Prime Tech forestry mulchers, skid steer mulchers, excavator mulchers and forestry tillers to closely explore the capabilities of the machines. “The FAE machines are so high quality that the people in this part of the country got to see something they’ve never seen before,” said Pacific Tractor’s owner, Jim Ford. “Here in the Pacific Northwest and all the way through Vancouver you’ll find extreme-

ly large trees with stumps that are 4 to 5 feet in diameter. It was truly amazing to watch FAE’s subsoiler behind a 340 HP tractor mulch huge trees and stumps out of the ground and turn them into a mulched like product fine enough to make farmland.” he added. “And let’s not overlook the Prime Tech forestry mulcher, which performed admirably on very steep inclines.” “I’m extremely impressed by the way the small FAE heads handle really hard work,” Achziger said. “But I’m most impressed with the support FAE brings to the table, the people at FAE is truly what makes the difference.” “No other group we’ve worked with has ever done what FAE did,” Ford added. “When you get that kind of support you know you are associated with a first-class product.” FAE USA is very excited about its partnership with Pacific Tractor. “First class products need first class dealers to be distributed and supported, and that’s why we have

The demonstration Kubota KX057-4 mini-excavator with FAE forestry mulching head attachment makes quick work of felling and mulching trees.

partnered with Pacific Tractor in Oregon... their sales and support team are second to none,” said Giorgio Carera, FAE USA’s CEO. “We are honored and proud to work with the Pacific Tractor team and have them represent our product in that market.” Chris Willson, owner of Willson Excavation and Forestry Mulching based in the Nashville, Tenn., suburb of Franklin, was flown out to the West Coast as a FAE Ambassador and to provide a product ownership view of the FAE line. Willson was able to provide FAE prospects with his perspective on best practices in operation of the FAE equipment and was able to answer questions from attendees about running the Prime Tech mulchers and utilization of the FAE attachments. Willson provided demonstrations of both the Prime Tech PT175 and PT300 to show visitors what an experienced operator can do with these machines. Willson currently owns two Prime Tech mulchers and several FAE heads.

FAE’s Product Manager, Lee Smith, and FAE’s Product Support Specialist, Adrian Majka, represented FAE during the event. “As a Product Manager representing a premium brand, there is no better feeling than working with a dedicated dealer such as Pacific Tractor and with FAEs knowledgeable professional team to pull off such a successful demo day,” Smith said during the successful demo day. “The way the FAE team and the Pacific tractor team worked together is the way a dealer-manufacturer relationship should work. It also showed what happens when you combine our industry leading attachments with high quality carriers: the results are unmatched and speak for themselves.” Pacific Tractor owner Jim Ford stated that moving forward, they plan to do a Power Demo Day every year during the fall. FAE looks forward to continuing to support Pacific Tractor during these one-of-a-kind events. 

Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 22, 2019 • Page 5

Contact your local dealer:

WASHINGTON: Seattle, WA 8207 South 216th Street Kent, Washington 98032 206.762.5933 Manager: Brian Burke bburke@PacWestMachinery.com Spokane, WA 3515 N. Sullivan Rd. Spokane Valley, Washington 99216 509.534.5933 Manager: Scott Upton supton@PacWestMachinery.com

OREGON: Portland, OR 19255 NE Sandy Boulevard Portland, Oregon 97230 503.252.5933 Manager: Tim Hurst thurst@PacWestMachinery.com Eugene, OR 1550 Irving Road Eugene, Oregon 97402 541.302.3762 Manager: Tim Hurst thurst@PacWestMachinery.com

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Page 6 • December 22, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

New Design of U.S. 95 Corridor Coming Soon to Idaho

By Lori Lovely

CEG CORRESPONDENT

Several roads at the southern end of the Garwood-to-Sagle U.S. 95 corridor north of Couer D’Alene, Idaho, are being reconfigured as part of a multi-year project to improve traffic flow and safety. The intersection with ID 53 junction near Hayden, Idaho, will be replaced with a unique interchange, while the intersection at Garwood Road will be replaced with an overpass, leaving Lancaster Road as the last signal on U.S. 95 going from Couer D’Alene and heading toward Sandpoint. Construction at ID 53 began in July 2019, with work scheduled to begin at Garwood in the summer of 2020. The new bridge and the ID 53 interchange are expected to be finished in the fall of 2020, with substantial completion of the rest of the project expected in fall 2021. Growth Chart It’s a project that’s been a long time coming. U.S. 95 is the primary north-south corridor through what Idaho Transportation Department project manager Joey Sprague calls “a rapidly developing area.” He said ITD has been planning for a way to address growth and safety needs along this corridor for more than a decade. Planning began in 2010 with a study of U.S. 95 between Garwood and Sagle. ITD created an interim design for the realignment of ID 53 and the replacement of the bridge over the railroad in 2017, the same year the scope of the project was expanded to include a new ID 53 interchange, an overpass for

The intersection with ID 53 junction near Hayden, Idaho, will be replaced with a unique interchange.

Garwood Road, frontage roads, the addition of a center turn lane and the extension of bicycle facilities, made possible by additional funding secured through the GARVEE Expansion Program — Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle, a type of bonding issued under the guidelines of the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 that lets states borrow against future federal highway allocations.

It’s a project that’s been a long time coming. U.S. 95 is the primary north-south corridor through what Idaho Transportation Department project manager Joey Sprague calls “a rapidly developing area.”

The GARVEE program will provide an estimated $41 million, with an additional $13.9 million coming in the way of federal aid. Now that funding is available, ITD is able to proceed with the project intended to improve safety and allow for future growth and mobility. New Design Work includes building a new single-

The new bridge and the ID 53 interchange are expected to be finished in the fall of 2020, with substantial completion of the rest of the project expected in fall 2021.

point urban interchange at U.S. 95 and ID 53; realigning and widening the shoulders on ID 53 from Ramsey Road to intersect more directly with U.S. 95; replacing the existing ID 53 bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad; providing an overpass at Garwood Road to carry traffic over U.S. 95 and the railroad; extending Government Way as an east-side frontage road from ID 53 to the intersection of Garwood and Pope Roads; constructing a roundabout at ID 53 and Government Way, and extending pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The ID 53 interchange is unique. Called a Single Point Urban Interchange, it’s the first of its kind in north Idaho. Unlike a traditional diamond interchange with signals for each on- and off-ramp, one signal controls all interchange traffic, which is said to be more efficient at moving traffic safely. It also fits better in constrained areas. With the new configuration, all traffic on ID 53 and left turns from the interchange ramps are controlled by one signal in the center of the bridge. The signal will have three cycles: one for through movement on ID 53 for traffic that is not turning; one for traffic exiting U.S. 95 and turning left onto ID 53; and one for traffic exiting ID 53 and turning left onto U.S. 95. Right turns will be signalized to protect drivers from through traffic. The existing signal at U.S. 59 and ID 53 was removed over the course of three nights, allowing northbound and southbound traffic on U.S. 95 to move below the interchange, unrestricted. Removing traffic signals at U.S. 95 at ID 53 and Garwood Road will permit a speed limit increase on the interstate to 70 mph through this section, once construction is complete. Once construction is completed, traffic exiting U.S. 95 to ID 53 will either turn left through the interchange signal or right through or right through the off-ramp signals. Similarly, traffic leaving ID 53 will either turn left onto U.S. 95 through the interchange signal or turn right to access the interstate directly. Traffic going through the interchange on ID 53 will then encounter a round-about, which will direct them to Government Way, from Government Way to Pope Road, or from Pope Road to ID 53, depending on their direction of travel. Schedule Site prep included clearing and grubbing approximately 40 acres and soil stripping to suitable material, according to Megan Sausser, public information specialist of ITD. Trees west of U.S. 95 were cleared in July to accommodate the new alignment. Government Way was closed at US 95 for tree removal and utility relocation. see CORRIDOR page 9

Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 22, 2019 • Page 7

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Page 8 • December 22, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Idaho Highway Project Lettings

• Clearwater Construction Management LLC — $2,212,462 • N A Degerstrom Inc. —$2,721,305

The Idaho Department of Transportation received bids for transportation-related improvement projects. Following is a list of some of the projects let.

Counties: Idaho, Lewis and Nez Perce Project No.: A019(595) Project: Bridge repair. Location: FY20 D2, U.S. 95. Engineers Estimate: N/A Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Cannon Builders Inc. —$1,619,861 • Razz Construction Inc. —$1,898,617

County: Kootenai Project No.: A022(157) Project: Park pathway. Location: U.S. 95, Garwood Road to Farragut. Engineers Estimate: $2,141,912 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • National Native American Construction Inc. — $1,966,392 • N.A. Degerstrom Inc. — $2,220.119 • Poe Asphalt Paving Inc. — Irregular • Interstate Concrete & Asphalt Company — $2,385,326

County: Jefferson Project No.: A019(040) Project: Intersection improvements. Location: SH-48, 4000E/4100E. Engineers Estimate: $901,772 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Depatco Inc. — $868,669 • TMC Contractors Inc. — Irregular • H-K Contractors Inc. — $995,569 • Knife River Corporation – Mountain West — $1,077,777

Counties: Bonneville and Jefferson Project No.: A019(472) Project: Bridge repair. Location: FY20 D6. Engineers Estimate: $2,311,358 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • The Truesdell Corporation —$2,222,222 • Cannon Builders Inc. —$2,236,620 • Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Company Inc. — Irregular • Razz Construction Inc. — $2,970,893 • American Civil Construction, West Coast LLC — $3,875,370 Counties: Nez Perce and Clearwater

Counties: Blaine, Cassia, Elmore, Gooding and Jerome Project No.: 021(805) Project: Rest area seal coats. Location: FY21 D4. Engineers Estimate: $474,093 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Emery Inc.—$319,242 • Kloepfer Inc.—$352,950

Project No.: A020(265) Project: Sealcoats. Location: FY21 D2. Engineers Estimate: $1,659,493 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Knife River Corporation-Mountain West — $1,520,000 • Poe Asphalt Paving Inc. —$1,542,150

County: Shoshone Project No.: A018(896) Project: Wall repair. Location: I-90B, Old U.S. 10, Wallace. Engineers Estimate: $1,437,663 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Clearwater Construction Inc. d/b/a Clearwater Western —$1,895,923 • Razz Construction Inc. —$2,147,218

County: Bannock Project No.: A019(324) Project: Pavement preservation. Location: FY19 South Bannock Co. Engineers Estimate: $4,657,480 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Kloepfer Inc.—$4,768,536 • Intermountain Slurry Seal Inc.—$4,918,989 • Geneva Rock Products Inc.—$5,108,332 • Riverside Contracting Inc.—$5,775,057 • Staker & Parson Companies d/b/a Idaho Materials & Construction—$6,040,382 County: Kootenai Project No.: A020(048) Project: ADA Improvements. Location: FY21 D1. Engineers Estimate: N/A Contractors and Bid Amounts: • LaRiviere Inc. — $376,566 • Cameron-Reilly LLC— $393,545 • WM Winkler Company— $482,394

Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 22, 2019 • Page 9

ITD Remembers 1995 Noseeum Creek Flooding on U.S.-12

By Megan Sausser

Idaho Transportation Department

When 400,000 tons of mud, rock, trees and other debris obliterated 1,200 ft. of highway on Nov. 20, 1995, it created “the biggest slide of my career,” said Mark Schuster, maintenance foreman of U.S.-12 for the last three decades. “When I got the call from Kati, I’ll admit I doubted her.” Just weeks on the job, Kati Young was new to Schuster’s team, and the one who made the call that Noseeum Creek had overtaken the highway at milepost 124.6. Heavy rains had kept the crew busy tending to little slides all week, and Young was listening to Schuster on her way home as he shared the forecast over the radio. She had slowed down to finish listening before she lost service, and ultimately, that’s what kept her out of the path of the creek washout just around the corner. “I saw the trees coming down and water on the road,” Young

said. “As water reached my tires, I backed up my one–ton pickup. I did this for half a mile. It was like a fast tide coming in.” Trees were strewn about like matchsticks, and boulders the size of Volkswagen Beetles had been pushed across the Lochsa River as Noseeum Creek crashed into the narrow channel, Young said. When Schuster joined her, they realized that the road would have to be closed for the night — around the next bend, a section of U.S.-12 had been completely taken out by the creek, which was estimated to be a 30-ft. wall of water and mud at the time it collided with the river. Rocks, trees, mud and other debris carried downstream by the creek created a dam, choking the river below and causing the tidelike effect above stream. Now divided by tons of material and missing a section of road, Schuster warned his crew downstream to seek high ground and assess the situation from Fish Creek Hill. Dispatch took care of notifying nearby towns, and that was it —

“As water reached my tires, I backed up my one–ton pickup. I did this for half a mile. It was like a fast tide coming in.” Kati Young Idaho Transportation Department

there was no 511 in 1995. Given the late hour, ITD didn’t get a good look at it until the next morning. The detour — a ninehour trip to Interstate 90, U.S.-95 and then U.S.-12 — was put in place to get over the Bitterroot Mountains, and the department knew it would be closed for weeks until the mess could be cleaned up and the road rebuilt. Those who were able to drive home enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with families, and those caught on the wrong side of the closure enjoyed it with each other. After the holiday, multiple ITD

crews began working with excavators, track hoes, dozers and dump trucks to clear debris, while engineers prepared to realign the road and put the emergency project out to bid to area contractors. They removed an estimated 20,000 cu. yds. in the first 19 days, but the 13-ft. culvert for Noseeum Creek was never recovered. “The river took care of itself,” Schuster said. But after that, the river wasn’t the same — it was now 8 ft. higher than before, requiring surveyors and engineers to draw plans for drilling and blasting to realign the road.

Multi-Year Project to Improve Traffic Flow, Safety Along U.S. 95 Corridor CORRIDOR from page 6

Also in July, ID 53 between U.S. 95 and Ramsey Road was widened to 40 ft. (12-ft. travel lanes and 8-ft. shoulders) while the highway was reduced to one lane during the day. A temporary signal was placed at ID 53 and Ramsey Road in August to manage additional traffic during the detour while the bridge over the railroad and the new interchange are built. Work on those is expected to continue through fall 2020. A permanent signal will be placed in 2022. Meanwhile, the signal at U.S. 95 and ID 53 was removed before crews began work on the new interchange. Traffic on U.S. 95 isn’t expected to be impacted during much of the construction, but traffic on ID 53 will have to detour around the bridge and interchange construction to Garwood Road while the state road is closed west of the interchange to allow crews to replace the bridge over the railroad and realign the highway. To improve traffic

Construction at ID 53 began in July 2019, with work scheduled to begin at Garwood in the summer of 2020.

flow, the stop sign at the intersection of Old U.S. 95 and ID 53 was removed. A 9-mi. path between Garwood and Athol is under way and expected to continue until late October, when guardrail work along the highway will be completed. According to IDT, the new path is planned to be 12 ft. wide and will allow bicyclists and pedestrians to reach Farragut State Park and

Silverwood from Coeur d’Alene. One portion of the path near Garwood Road will not be built until the new overpass is constructed in 2020-2021. Frontage roads and the overpass at Garwood Road will also be built in 2020-2021, as will the roundabout at ID 52 and Government Way. The frontage road along Pope Road east of U.S. 95 will be extended.  CEG

Poor weather continued, undermining progress as crews worked seven days a week, daylight to dusk. Nighttime work wasn’t considered safe. The closure affected the travel routes of fuel and chip trucks from Montana, as well as garbage trucks heading from Idaho into Montana. While services didn’t cease, the detour impacted staff times and fuel costs. ITD still maintained Lolo Pass for U.S. Forest Service employees to access work sites at Powell. Forty-seven dump trucks would eventually carry 3,000 tons of rock from Lewiston to lay the base for 1,200 ft. of highway that would be reconstructed. Emergency efforts and permanent repairs totaled $660,000. Twenty-five days after the flood, U.S.-12 reopened. It was Dec. 23, a few days before holiday travelers would be looking to cross Lolo Pass to return home. The gift to the highway department: reuniting families and a shorter commute home. 

Dirty Work To complete the job, approximately 50,000 cu. yds. of granular borrow has been placed, out of 525,000 cu. yds. planned for the entire project. General contractor Scarsella Bros. Inc., from Seattle, Wash., a family-owned heavy civil construction company known for performing mass grading, excavation, rock drilling and blasting, and underground pipe and utility installation, maintains a large fleet of equipment. In order to move so much dirt and to complete construction on schedule, equipment on site includes: • Mack dump truck • Komatsu PC360 LC excavator • Cat CS54B roller • Cat D8N dozer • Hitachi Zaxis 225 US LC excavator • Cat 950G loader • Hitachi Zaxis 135 US LC excavator • Broce broom sweeper • Cat CS533E roller • Cat 16G grader • Cat D9R dozer • four Cat 631E belly scrapers • two Cat D10 dozers • John Deere 450J dozer • Cat 140H grader • Cat 988F loader • Mack water truck • Komatsu PC 490 LC excavator • six Cat 769D haul trucks • Cat D6N dozer

Page 10 • December 22, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Rules and Regulations…

Gov. Brad Little: Idaho Is Least-Regulated State in U.S.

By Keith Ridler Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) Idaho is the least-regulated state in the United States, Gov. Brad Little said. The Republican governor said he’s cut or simplified 75 percent of Idaho’s administrative rules this year and leapfrogged ahead of South Dakota as the least-regulated state. State officials said they base the state’s least-regulated status on information collected by George Mason University. Little said he’s eliminated more than 30,000 restrictions and some 1,800 pages of regulations. Little had sweeping authority to eliminate thousands of rules after state lawmakers fought over the administrative rules process and failed to renew them before adjourning in April. Little said the cuts to regulations will help the economy.

“Folks, when you reduce friction on entrepreneurs, good-paying jobs will follow,” the governor declared. The rules touch on nearly every aspect of daily life. They include such things as protecting consumers, homeowners, the environment and school children. They range from hunting and fishing licenses and seasons to licensing for health care professionals and construction contractors. They are mostly products of the state’s obscure but important negotiated rule-making process that involves public participation. Backers of the simplifying and rules cuts, including Little, have consistently said the health and safety of Idahoans won’t be put at risk. All the administrative rules were set to expire earlier this year after the House at the end of the legislative session in April killed a bill reauthorizing them. Little used his

“Last year, no one believed we would kill all the rules, and the House did.” Rep. Mike Moyle House Majority Leader

executive authority to give rules he wanted to keep temporary status, eliminating others deemed obsolete and clarifying additional rules. The Legislature meets again in early January and it’s not clear whether the House and Senate have resolved their differences. Republicans have super-majorities in both chambers, and the disagreement is among Republicans. Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke gave an emphatic “No” on whether lawmakers would again fail to approve an

administrative rules package. But Republican Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder said the two sides were still negotiating, and even looking at fundamental changes in how administrative rules are handled. “We’ve been working with House leadership over the summer to try to come up with maybe a compromise,'' he said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done.” The administrative rules bill the House killed at the end of the legislative session died a complicated

death when it became the focus of a fight between the House and Senate. The House tried and failed several times to change how administrative rules are re-authorized. But the Senate refused to give House members unilateral authority to kill administrative rules. House Majority Leader Mike Moyle said he’s still interested in changing the rules to give the House the authority to kill administrative rules. “Last year, no one believed we would kill all the rules, and the House did,” he said. “I think there is support in the House caucus to keep doing that if we don’t get it set up so the rules are passed by both bodies and not one.” If the two branches fail to reach an agreement, Little’s pruning of administrative rules could become an annual project. “Things just tend to grow by nature,” Little said. 

Seattle to Invest Record $110M to Dense Soil Build New Affordable Housing Units Conditions Delay Bridge Opening “Look, we know that our city has grown

SEATTLE (AP) Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that the city this year will invest a record amount of $110 million into affordable housing. The Seattle Times reported the funding will go toward the construction and redevelopment of 1,944 new units across the city. Durkan stressed the urgent need for affordable housing in a time of great economic growth and displacement. “Look, we know that our city has grown so rapidly, and so many people have been pushed out of the community instantly, that I think it really threatens who we are as a city,” Durkan said. Seattle taxpayers have decided to fund much of the city’s affordablehousing investment through the Seattle Housing Levy, but this year the city also was able to use a state sales-tax credit authorized by the Washington Legislature last session. An additional $13.3 million came from that tax credit,

so rapidly, and so many people have been pushed out of the community instantly, that I think it really threatens who we are as a city.” Jenny Durkan Seattle Mayor

as did $32 million from real estate excise-tax revenue and $12.75 million from the sale of properties in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Emily Alvarado, director of the Seattle Office of Housing, stressed that federal dollars only made up a “mod-

est” contribution to this year’s investments. The new investments will help fund construction of 11 buildings for lowincome families, individuals and seniors, as well as 304 permanent, supportive housing units for people who have been chronically homeless. 

Since mid-June, the Washington State Department of Transportation closed a portion of State Route 506 near Vader to replace the aging and failing Lacamas Creek Bridge in Lewis County. While drilling foundations for the replacement structure, WSDOT’s contractors, Farline Bridge Inc., discovered dense soil conditions, which will delay the reopening of the highway. Construction was originally scheduled to be done in 2019, and redesign work needed to complete the job will delay the project completion until next year. “The soils about 60 feet below the original bridge shaft locations are denser than we originally determined during design investigation,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Colin Newell. “As a result, the contractor was not able to drive the steel shafts for the structure’s foundation to the required depth. This required a redesign of the shafts and the need to procure new reinforcing steel for them.” When the newly designed reinforcing steel arrives, crews will begin installing them, digging some 80 ft. down into the earth, then filling the shafts with concrete. Crews plan to work through the winter, as weather allows. 

Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 22, 2019 • Page 11

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Efficiency & High Performance.

Page 12 • December 22, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

The LH50M Industry material handler represents efficiency and high performance. The standard Liebherr regenerative power system assures maximum handling while, at the same time, achieving lower fuel consumption. Quiet operation with the highest payload is guaranteed by the large, sturdy undercarriage. The attachment of the machine is available in a variety of versions and is thus always optimally matched to your respective application.

18060 Des Moines Memorial Dr. Seattle, WA 98148 3909 NW Fruit Valley Rd Vancouver, WA 98660