Smoke signals., October 15, 2009, Page 13, Image 13

Smoke Signals 13
OCTOBER 15, 2009
Project spammedl imeairDy seeira years
..rvCf :
mi M1 -hi. mi i-tti i ,- .J":jfek
File photo
Tribal member Nicholas Atanacio and his friends walk home on a narrow
shoulder of Grand Ronde Road in this photo from 2004. The image became
an important part of the Tribe's application for a grant to widen the street.
M f . '
.... , , - T"
' ? J, ,..
... ,.,.... " " . I I, ii Y.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Trista Phillips, a sixth-grader at Willamina Middle School at Grand Ronde,
walks home from school down the newly finished and safer Grand Ronde
Road on Monday, Oct. 1 2.
ROAD continued
from front page
five crosswalks along the way. Deep
roadside ditches were replaced with
storm sewers and the roadway was
widened to accommodate bike lanes
and sidewalks.
'The design team was fabulous,"
said Scott about Albany-based Re
ece and Associates. "Even though
this project spanned nearly seven
year9, they never lost sight of the
end game."
Reece also provided innovative
design solutions to ensure that ar
eas with limited rights of way still
had drainage.
"A special design," said company
. principal David Reece, "went under
the sidewalk. It involved a subsur
face drain system with perforated
pipe, 20 feet long and 2 to 3 feet
deep. So, water that comes to the
sidewalk still drains to the storm
sewer system."
The state Department of Trans
portation was heavily involved
in the design and plan review for
work at the intersections of Grand
Ronde Road and state highways
18 and 22.
"ODOT was extremely coopera
tive and helpful," Scott said.
Sherwood-based C&M Construc
tion Inc., general contractor for the
project, hired two Tribal members
Terry Houck and, through a flag
ging subcontractor, Tyrone Rock.
The company also hired community
member Sunshine Butler (Siletz).
'They are really good, hard work
ers," said Project Superintendent
Steve Smith, who leaves with a
sense of accomplishment, but back
to an uncertain economy. "We like
them. They've got jobs after this job
is over if we have work."
The project required building an
entirely new road because there
was no base rock under the old
roadway.
"It was a full reconstruct of the
road," Smith said. "We dug it out
and put in all new base rock 12
inches of rock and four inches of
paving. We built a whole new road
base the full length.
Y
Where Portland SateUite Office
m., XaX. .
XJJIZSW Kelly Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97239
I When: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
t Tlmc:8A.M.-12 P.M.
Due to limited supplies and delivery
delays this clinic may be cancelled at
anytime.
Tribal Elders, spouses, and direct
descendants only
'bal ID and Medical Card required
For more information contact
LLj Archuleta 503-235-4230
Ad created by George Vaktet
"You move on to a job like this and
it's just chaos. You organize things
and try to envisage what it's going
to look like. It's always rewarding
to drive up and down a new road
when it's done. This looks nice and
that looks nice. It's a feeling of ac
complishment." In addition, Smith said, "C&M is
appreciative of the patience of the
homeowners and residents on the
road. We inconvenienced them on
a daily basis."
While not all neighbors along the
road were happy with the work,
Tribal member Sue Daniels, who
lives in Tribal housing, said, "Some
times there was a bit of a wait, but
I like the way it looks now."
Tribal member Molly Leno, who
lives in Bunnsville, said that she
didn't even notice until the end
when they were working on the
intersection at Highway 18. "Some
times," she said, "it was a pain to
go to the Tribal offices."
For Tribal Elder Dean and Chris
tine Mercier, who live on the road,
"It was a beautiful job and they
worked with us," Christine said.
"I thought in the morning they'd
like some coffee, so I brought Sun
shine (Butler) a thermos," she
said.
The workers later moved a beau
tiful old rhododendron bush for the
Merciers, and Christine responded
with a peach pie for the crew. Later,
they moved a big carved black bear
that was in the way of the sidewalk,
and Christine made them banana
bread.
"That's why I'm so underfed,"
said Dean.
"We worked with them and they
worked with us," said Christine.
"The project turned out well,"
said Polk County Administrator
Greg Hansen. "It's a much needed
safety improvement that will ben
efit all the people in the area."
The coordination among the
many government agencies "went
surprisingly well," said Polk Coun
ty Engineer tech Fred Low. "It was
two years. It was a long process."
"(t's been a tremendous improve
ment for the neighborhood. It looks
like a whole different community,"
said Bill Gille, Yamhill County
engineer.
The beneficial effect of the project
on the community came through for
Kim Rogers, Tribal Planning and
Grants manager, when he saw a
mother pushing a stroller along the
new sidewalk.
"It's been a lot more positive now
that the road's done," said Gus For
ster, principal of Willamina Middle
School at Grand Ronde, of talk at
the school about the roadwork.
"It's been a great addition and a
great safety feature for the school.
We've got a lot of students coming
from Tribal housing, so it's been
great for them."
Funding for the project came
from:
Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA)
Indian Reservation Roads program
($3.5 million);
BIA High Priority Project grant
($1 million);
Two Housing and Urban Devel
opment (HUD) Indian Community
Development Block grants, one for
the sewer main ($500,000) and
one for pedestrian improvements
($500,000);Tribal matches for water
line work in the HUD grants were
ultimately reimbursed by the BIA;
Proceeds from a Polk County
road bond to overlay the road
($200,000);
Proceeds from a Yamhill County
bicycle and pedestrian grant fund
($115,000);
An Indian I lealth Services sewer
improvements grant ($237,000); and
Tribal funding for all tele
com infrastructure improvements '
(nearly $350,000).
The $6.4 million total includes
design and construction costs.
The process to formalize rights
of way acquisitions was "a huge
hurdle," said Scott, and included
numerous public meetings over the
period from 2001-06.
Scott first brought the project
to Tribal Council in 2000. Design
work began in 2003. Construction
began Aug. 4, 2008.
"This project really transforms
the character of the community. We
probably saved some lives as well,"
Scott said. D