PNW 14 2016

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PACIFIC NORTHWEST EDITION

A Supplement to:

®

July 10 2016 Vol. I • No. 14

“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Pacific Northwest Connection – Patrick Kiel – 1-877-7CEGLTD – pkiel@cegltd.com

Workers Unearth Something Extra During OSU Expansion Loren Davis photo

After construction workers discovered mammoth bones and other ancient animal bones on site at Oregon State University’s Valley Football Center, archaeologists stepped in to remove some of the bones.

By Brenda Ruggiero CEG CORRESPONDENT

A renovation and expansion project at the Valley Football Center at Oregon State University recently resulted in an unexpected discovery. “A construction worker digging in the north end zone of Reser Stadium discovered a large femur bone that appeared to be from a mammoth while moving dirt,” said Michelle Klampe of the news and research communications department. “Further discovery revealed additional bones from several extinct mammals” The work being done consisted of mass excavation of native

Theresa Hogue photo

The femur of a mammoth found at an OSU construction site.

material that needed to be removed in order to bring the grade of the new equipment area down to field level. The general contractor is Hunt/Fortis, a joint venture; and the excavation company working in the area at the time was Pacific Excavation Inc. A track-mounted excavator was reportedly being used at the time. “The crew working in the area immediately stopped work and the company notified Oregon State University officials of the discovery,” Klampe explained. “OSU officials asked Loren Davis, an associate professor of anthropology at OSU, and other experts to examine the bones and the site in which they were found. Davis and others carefully removed the femur and other bones, and pulled large see MAMMOTH page 14

Theresa Hogue photo

Construction resumed shortly after archaeologists declared bones found on the site were of animals.

Railroad to Replace Bolts After Fiery Oil Train Derailment By Matthew Brown and Gillian Flaccus ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Union Pacific Railroad said it will replace a type of bolt on its track that led to a fiery oil train derailment on the Oregon-Washington border, but the pledge failed to ease concerns

in the tiny town where the wreck sparked a massive fire that burned for 14 hours. Federal investigators in a preliminary report released June 23 blamed the derailment on Union Pacific for failing to properly maintain its track. The report flagged broken “lag bolts’’ as the immediate cause and

said better inspections would have caught the issue. The lag bolt is part of a fastening system that attaches the rail to ties. It prevents the rails from moving too far apart, which can lead to derailments. Union Pacific faces potential penalties for safety violations, according to the Federal Railroad Administration report.

The document, obtained in advance by The Associated Press, came out a day after Union Pacific announced it would resume running oil trains in the Columbia River Gorge. The combined news shocked and angered residents in Mosier, a town of about 400 where the train went off the tracks. The June 3

derailment released 42,000 gallons of crude and prompted evacuations. No one was injured. “I think it’s outrageous that they’re telling us it’s safe,’’ Mosier Mayor Arlene Burns said. “We are going to keep pushing until we feel that this has been properly addressed.’’ see RAILROAD page 12


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PNW 14 2016 by Construction Equipment Guide - Issuu