Published Nationally ®
Southeast Edition
July 3 2019
$3.00
Vol. XXXII • No. 14
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Levee Breach Causes Major Flooding in Rural Arkansas
Profile: Ascendum GM Kristin Parker...22
After approximately 50 years of debating and planning, Savannah’s Truman Linear Park Trail will link 827 acres of existing park land within the city from Daffin Park in the north to Lake Mayer Community Park in the south once completed in 2020.
Case Partners With Country Star Pardi...70
A panoramic view of the damage caused by the levee breach near Holla Bend in Dardanelle, Ark.
By Brenda Ruggiero
Damage from a levee breach in Dardanelle, Ark., is still being addressed several weeks later and a decision is yet to be made on repairs. The city is located about 60 mi. northwest of Little Rock in Yell County. Dardanelle Mayor Jimmy Witt reported that the damage is 45 ft. deep and 350 ft. wide. The breach occurred on May 31, caused by flooding along the Arkansas River upstream in Oklahoma that had been building for days from heavy rainfall. The river started to sharply rise after water was released from a lake near Tulsa by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Laurie Driver of the USACE Little Rock District explained that the levee system was originally built by the Corps in the 1940s and ’50s along the Arkansas River. However, the law required that the levees be turned over to a local levee district to operate and maintain. If this district was determined inactive, the county judge would be responsible for the levee. Driver noted that the USACE does inspect the levees regularly and puts the information in the National Levee Database, in addition to providing advice. “In certain situations, we will provide the expertise because the Levee District may not have it,” Driver said. “We help look at hits along the levee system, and when needed we provide various options or possible solutions to help the Levee Board handle emergency situations.” Driver explained that flooding occurred along the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Kansas. An extreme amount of water was received. The water was held back, but she stated that there comes a point where the integrity of the dam must be kept and a release is required. “Arkansas knew that a flood was coming,” Driver said. “Out ahead of that, we warned property owners in low-lying areas. They needed to make decisions about moving property, animals and equipment. Other than that, the water had to come through.” She noted that the USACE has the authority to provide sandbags to state and county local emergency management officers if there is a declaration made by the appropriate government officials. “We used the National Guard to place 300-pound sandbags,” Driver said. CEG CORRESPONDENT
Ritchie Bros. CEO to Step Down...79
Table of Contents ........4 Wheel Loaders, Tool Carriers & Attachments Section ..................24-42 Paving Section ......43-57 Parts Section ..............58 Business Calendar......76 Auction Section ....78-84 Advertisers Index ......86
see FLOOD page 60
After 50 Years, Savannah Trail Nearly Finished By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
After nearly 50 years of talk and planning, crews have begun turning dirt on a project that will soon open miles of trail to cyclists and pedestrians around the city of Savannah, Ga. The Truman Linear Park Trail will link 827 acres of existing park land within the city from Daffin Park in the north to Lake Mayer Community Park in the south. The completed trail will also link two economic centers located near Montgomery Crossroads and the Truman Parkway and Victory Drive and Skidaway Road. Talk of building the Truman Linear Park Trail started in the 1970s, but didn’t really gain traction until the last decade, when it ran into resistance. “They put out a lot of negative informasee TRAIL page 66