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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ APRIL 12, 2017 ❘ Siuslaw News SECTION B SENIOR NEWS CALENDAR Coast Life INSIDE — 6B ‘Balancing between history and safety’ CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Siuslaw River Bridge Cathodic Protection Project seeks to preserve, celebrate history PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) contractors Hamilton Construction Co. and Great Western are moving main construction and equipment to the south end of the Siuslaw River Bridge. Meanwhile, containment structures (right) are being placed at the north end of the bridge for the continuing replacement of bridge railing. within the concrete on the shape of the old. from corrosion. “Our designer did a The grey zinc coating great job creating forms runs from the tideline that work really well. up the bridge supports. The design matches Contractors work in really close,” Neal said. two groups — one “Something you will group working on the notice as you walk past cathodic protection, and is the height differ- one group removing ence.” and replacing bridge Besides raising the railing. height to be elbow-high “We have about 15 on an adult, each deco- people out here work- rative opening on the ing every day,” said new rail features a ODOT Senior Inspector metal arch to prevent Nate Neal. things from falling Crews are required to through. From left, ODOT Public Information Officer Angela Beers wear hardhats, safety “That’s what this Seydel, Project Coordinator Shane Prohaska and Senior harnesses, life vests and project is about — bal- Inspector Nathan Neal tour the Siuslaw River Bridge other safety features as ancing between history Cathodic Protection Project last week. “It’s what I love they work in the con- and safety,” Neal said. about my job — days like this,” Beers Seydel said. struction zones. As for the color dif- Neal himself is on hand to check fic of Rhody Days. We shouldn’t be ference, Neal advised waiting a for progress and inspect elements at vari- as much of a pain with our equip- years for the moss to grow. ous points in the project. ment this year,” Neal said. “It’s noticeable now, but once we “We haven’t had any big surpris- He said work would mostly be have all new rail here, no one will es,” he said. done at night from May 17 to 21, and know. Give it a few years,” he said. Recently, the crews moved most of that crews would continue to monitor Now that the construction barge is their equipment — including noisy traffic on Highway 101. across the river, crews often spend generators — out of Old Town “We were successful with that last their entire days onsite. With the Florence and across Siuslaw River to year,” Neal said. “In fact, I was able weather slowly warming, this will the south end of the bridge. to come out and spend the Rhody become easier on the crew. “The cathodic protection is mov- Days weekend out here.” “The cold weather caused a little ing south, and the replacement of the Beers Seydel said, “(Being ready bit of issues with the concrete and bridge rail is swapping positions,” for Rhody Days) was a promise we rail work, but the containment has to Neal said. made to the governor, as well, when be environmentally controlled for the He added that the sound com- she was here.” zinc application,” Neal said. plaints had dropped off now that the Oregon Gov. Kate Brown visited Inside the containment structures, noisiest equipment was across the Florence March 14 to hear about the the temperature has to remain above river. Siuslaw River Bridge Cathodic 65 degrees, and can get as high as 90 Next, crews will begin removing Protection Project, ODOT’s partner- degrees. A filtration system attached the walking bridge that allowed ship with the City of Florence on the to the structure filters out dust and workers to reach the stationary barge ReVision Florence Project and the sand. parked under the north span. That area’s economic development and to Wind can also be an issue, espe- means the small parking lot under the hold a community forum. cially when crews are moving struc- bridge will be open by May, just in As the crews working on the tures or using the barge and crane. time for the 110th annual bridge rail come closer to Old Town, “The things they are moving are Rhododendron Festival in Florence, people will be able to see the slight pretty big sails,” Neal said. “If crews when up to 15,000 people attend the differences between the old railing pick up those in 30 miles per hour weeklong festivities. and the new, safer railing. ODOT winds, things could get away from “We work with the increased traf- designers created the new rails based them. T he iconic Siuslaw River Bridge has reigned over Florence since its completion in 1936. Now, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is overseeing improvements to increase the integri- ty and longevity of the bridge. The main components of the Cathodic Protection Project, scheduled to be completed in March 2019, are repair- ing damaged concrete and replacing bridge railings. Additional features include seismic improvements and safer and more accessible sidewalks. The Siuslaw River Bridge is one of five major bridges constructed along the Oregon Coast Highway (Highway 101) during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. Engineer Conde B. McCullough created a unique Art Deco design for each of the bridges, emphasizing symmetri- cal patterns, geometric forms, elegant arches and sunburst motifs. “I just love our bridge,” said ODOT Public Information Officer Angela Beers Seydel. “It’s beautiful. I was so sad when they took down the Alsea Bay Bridge. That’s why we’re doing this. We can’t lose another one.” Due to corrosion, ODOT demol- ished the original Alsea Bay Bridge in Waldport in 1991 and replaced it with a more modern, durable span. “There’s pain in keeping the bridge updated, but it’s something to keep investing in. There’s a reason these bridges are iconic,” Beers Seydel said. ODOT awarded Hamilton Construction Co. the primary bid for the Siuslaw River Bridge project. The secondary contractor is Great Western, who specializes in the zinc application process of cathodic pro- tection. The process involves sand- blasting and cleaning concrete before coating surfaces with zinc. According to ODOT, installing a zinc surface coating on coastal bridges protects the reinforcing steel N ATURAL PERSPECTIVE pring has arrived on the coast and so have some long-distance visi- tors: rufous hummingbirds. These tiny birds, weighing little more than a penny, have made an impressive jour- ney of more than 3,500 miles from wintering sites in Mexico. The name “rufous” refers to their rust-colored feathers which, in males, are especially vivid and accompanied by a fiery orange throat. Arriving in our yards, these little gems join the larger, green Anna’s hummingbird, which overwinters in Oregon. Despite their small stature, rufous hummingbirds are very territori- S B Y E MILY J. U HRIG , P H D Special to the Siuslaw News — B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News “That’s the delight about the coast, however. You have a rainy day and turn around and it will be sunny.” During April, crews will be work- ing between 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, with occa- sional 2 a.m. starts. They will contin- ue sandblasting on the south end of the bridge, with some touch up work on the north end. Rail replacement will begin to move north. Beers Seydel said people driving on Highway 101 should expect some lane closures during the day for bridge rail replacement and other work. Delays may be up to 20 min- utes, but will normally be five min- utes or less. When ODOT began the bid process in 2014, a letter sent out to the community said, “Overall, the bridge preservation project is both for historic preservation and safety.” Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, 278 Maple St. in Florence, has more information on the history of the Siuslaw River Bridge, including arti- facts removed during ODOT’s 2010 upgrade of the mechanical and elec- trical elements of the drawbridge. For more information, contact the museum at 541-997-7884 and www.siuslawpioneermuseum.com. For more information on ODOT’s Siuslaw River Bridge Cathodic Protection Project, visit www.Siuslawbridge.com. Gems of springtime al and often described by field guides as pugnacious and feisty. They may even chase larger hum- mingbirds away from feeders, but who can blame them? We’re all a little grumpy after a long-haul journey and they’ve done it powered only by flower nectar. In addition to being accomplished travelers, rufous hummingbirds are notable for their memory and learning abilities associated with locating food sources. As they zoom around our yards, they may appear to be randomly flitting between flowers or feeders, but the birds are actually making decisions on where to find nectar. For instance, they can remember which flowers have been emptied and avoid visiting them until the nectar has had time to replenish. Such efficiency in feeding is important for sustaining an animal whose resting heartrate can be around 500 beats per minute. While we often associate humming- birds with red flowers, and most back- yard feeders are red, biologists have shown that the birds rely more on flower location rather than color when choosing where to feed. Experiments using artificial flowers show that rufous hummingbirds return to a location where they were previous- ly successful in finding nectar even if the color of flower in that location has changed. This location-based memory appears to be based on recognition of nearby landmarks similar to how you could still find your favorite coffee shop even if it had been painted a different color since your last visit. We are lucky to host such amazing birds in our own backyards, and their brightness is a very welcome sight at the end of a gray Oregon winter. So get your feeders out and enjoy these little springtime gems.
