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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 1982)
’H*»« •* SANOY (O r«-) K>ST Thyr» D«< 23 19t2 (W c 1) Solution considered for bridge problem by MICHAEL P JONES Post ( orreipondcnl • T TI 4 The Salmon River bridge on U S Highway 26, near Brightwood, is a killer Last year two persons died in an accident that has been attributed to icing problems In addition, in the last five years 12 persons have been known to have been injured in wrecks that oc curred on the bridge Plans are underway to correct the problem of ice on the bridge, but it won't be until summer before work can begin Statistics from the state D e p a rtm e n t of M o to r Vehicles show that there have been six accidents that have occurred on the bridge Not reflected in th e ir records are the number of unreported close calls From Jan 1,1977 to Sept 1, 1960 officials from the state Highway Division report that there were three accidents on the 450-foot structure In two of th ese a c c id e n ts the vehicles struck the bridge In the third, two vehicles collided head-on A total of seven persons w re injured in these mishaps Last year, on Dec 30, the S alm on R iv e r B rid g claimed two lives Joyce Utterback of Sunnyside and M an e Elizabeth Ap pleton of Banks were killed in a head-on crash In addi tion, five other persons wet e injured Also killed were two Doberman pinschers that were riding in the back of a camper They died when the propane tank exploded when it was struck by the vehicle U tte rb a c k was riding in The impact also caused the gas tanks of both vehicles to explode The bridge, which was constructed in 1972, is on a five percent grade When it rains or snows, the water flows down toward the bridge, and ices up when it reaches the span Oregon State Police officials say that during cold weather, when ice is present, it can be dangerous for vehicles to cross even when they are exercising extreme caution and driving defensively V eh icles d riv in g east- bound. up the mountain, reportedly w ill slide out of control into the westbound lane of traffic Ron F a ilm e s g e r , regional traffic operations supervisor for the Highway Division, said the problem of ice is the result of wear and tear on the surface, caused by chains and stud ded tires The weight of tractor traitors, coupled w ith th e ir use of tire chains, magnifies the wear on the bridge These snow traction devices polish the concrete, making the road slicker. The p ro b le m is m agnified fu rth er, said Failmesger, by the large numbers of tractor traitors that travel through the Mt Hood c o r r id o r T h e ir weight, coupled with the use of tire chains, helps to wear down the surface of the bridge Failmesger said if the use of chains and studded tires were banned, then problems like the one on the Salmon River bridge would not occur But this is highly unlikely He said the only place he has heard of where they have banned the tra c .io n device is Munich. West Germany. “ H ig h w ay 26 is the g a te w a y to O re g o n 's recreational areas.*' said Fail-esger "A lot of people travel it go get to Mt Hood, Eastern Oregon, Central Oregon. Bend. Madras and everything east of that." T raffic counts from the Highway Division reveal t h a t th is s e c tio n of Highway 26. around the Salmon River bridge, is heavily traveled From one-tenth of a mile east of Sleepy Hollow Road a survey was taken that revealed that 6,300 vehicles are using the highway per day A good deal of this traffic traveled across the bridge During good ski weather the traffic could be heavier F a ilm e s g e r, who has been working on the pro blems since last year's double-fatality, said a solu tion has been found The solution to icing problems is a German-patented pro duct called Verglint, which is distributed from Ontario. Canada V e r g lin t, sa id F a ilm e s g e r , c o n ta in s calcium chloride In wet weather the Verglint will give off a solution that will keep the moisture from tur : Ackerman completes Guard basic training A ir National Guard A ir man Steven L Ackerman, son of Richard L and Eleanor W Ackerman of Sandy, has been assigned to Low iy A ir Force Base, Colo., after completing Air Force basic training During the six weeks at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, the airm an studied the A ir Force mission, organization and customs and received special train ing in human relations A rt show to feature Welches students "Christmas Tree Cutting in the Mt Hood National F orest," an interpretive art show, is on display in the public information of fice of the Zig Zag Ranger Station The art show features the work of third and fourth g ra d e rs fro m W elches Grade School and were selected during a recent contest On display are 20 crayon drawings depicting the an nual Christmas tree cutting that takes place on Ixilo Pass Road This year, ac cording to Terry Peterson, the U S Forest Service w orker who coordinated th e show, o v e r 6,000 Christm as tree perm its were issued as of Monday P e te rs o n said the students' sketches repre sent a wide range of inter pretations of the annual tree cutting event One student had a person tn a canoe scouting out a good Christmas tree from the waters of a lake New Mexico and Oregon He said the only tim e the Highway Division w ill use salt is when it gets really cold Then a little will be mixed in with the sand " Verglint is still in the ex perim ental stages, said Failm esger, but it has pro ven to be successful in California and on the East Coast It has also been used in Canada for a number of years Although it is not official yet. Failm esger said he feels the use of the Verglint on the bridge w ill be employed next year The final approval w ill have to come from the Federal H ig h w a y C o m m is s io n , since gas tax funds w ill be used for the Verglint He said, however, that he doesn't anticipate any pro blems If Verglint is approved. Failm esger said it w ill be used as an experimental program If used, it would be the first tim e in Oregon The cost i . d be about $100,000 H o w ever, F a ilm e s g e r does not see every ice pro blem on the highway being eliminated He said he did not believe an application of Verglint could make the "super" on Highway 35. n ear its jun ctio n w ith Highway 26. safer The super was co n structed by t * Federal Highw ay A dm inistration with a drainage, or drop, of one-fourth inch pc- foot It is reportedly one of the most dangerous curves in the corridor Even the Highway D iv i sion's own heavy rotary sn o w p low s, w hich a re equipped with chains on all wheels, have difficulty in keeping on the roadway, said Failm esger I DON'T 1 LEARY SHOWER OR TUB? I We specialize in Water Damage 1 1 WAIT ! I to «alls and Floon. 1 Remember a Little Dryrot | Goes a Long Way. R & L í» I ’ WIHIWAHIT KJgflAHB 255 6775 CMAMX. »AS • vwn nsucci • (are Brides Registered at Cloudtree A Sun jpr ‘h*’ th e G ift T Tbey'U R e ea lly «« be>' U K aU ? I) D ecem ber thru April BRIDE GROOM Charla Geissler Stuart Hughs Eori Sinclair Tim Mackey Kathryn Knudsen E rik Saling Jody Kay Goodwin Rod Dawes • CLOUDTREE & SUN, a n d S c h o o l o f ( x x ik c r y 112 X. Main 6 6 6 -8 4 9 5 2 to graduate from University of Oregon About 800 University of Oregon students are can didates for degrees at the end of the fall term , accor ding to officials in the Of fice of the Registrar Among the 811 degree ning to ice. F a ilm e s g e r said the Verglint will be poured over the bridge's concrete roadway and then paved over with ashalt Although the Verglint is not supposed to be corrosive, this is be ing done as a protective measure This way no salt from the Verglint w ill be able to seep through to the supports and cause pro blems In Salt Lake City, Utah, where salt is used heavily on the roads to prevent th e m fro m ic in g up, Failmesger said several bridge decks are having to be replaced However, this w ill not be a problem in Oregon, where little salt is used. T he use of V e r g lin t shouldn't pose problems fo r au to bodies, sa id F a ilm e s g e r S a lt , as anyone from the states that use it knows, will eat away the underside of a vehicle like acid. The only two states that don't rely on salt, said Failmesger. are \\TUSen K ) |W candidates, 560 are receiv ing bachelor's degrees, 183 are completing master's deg es, 56 are finishing doctoral degrees and 12 w ill receive law degrees As a m o n e y -s a v in g measure, no commence m e n t c e re m o n ie s a re s c h e d u le d H o w e v e r, several schools, colleges and d ep artm en ts have planned inform al recep lions to honor graduates and their families In c lu d e d am ong the graduates are Jean Louise Arthur of Boring, who is receiving a bachelor of arts degree in journalism, and R ic h a r d P e t r ie of Brightwood, who is receiv ing a master of science degree in counseling L ik e DOES YOUR BUSINESS INSURANCE CHECKUP? It's a sad fa il. As intLit» <i ta ic u p , «ndocs employ«- fh s h n s s ti What It i do about it? 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