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SANOY (O r«-) K>ST Thyr»
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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
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th e G ift T
Tbey'U
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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
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13343S.E. Stark
256*4217
CCS
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