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ODOT officials gear up for North Ontario Interchange task



With construction work at the North Ontario Interchange about to begin, utility workers continue to reroute powerlines around the area. Work on the interchange project is expected to begin in earnest next week, according to officials from Kerr Contractors Inc., which is the general contractor for the venture.
ONTARIO - Work should begin soon on the long-awaited construction of a new North Ontario Interchange to connect Interstate 84 and Oregon Highway 201, after a final preconstruction conference was held between contractors and state and local officials Tuesday.

“Generally, this project has been in the works for 10 years. This is the culmination of the Yturri Memorial Beltline,” Oregon Department of Transportation Project Manager Paul Woodworth said after the final, day-long preconstruction conference at the ODOT office in Ontario.

Nick Bezates, project manager for Kerr Contractors Inc., Woodburn — the general contractor for the north Ontario project — said at the Tuesday meeting that along with building a new overpass for Oregon Highway 201, the project will also include widening the bridges over the Malheur River.

“We’re going to realign all the ramps,” he said. “We plan to get started next week with the fill (work).” The completion date is Oct. 31, 2008, Bezates said.

“We expect to be completed by that date,” he said. “For most of the project, traffic will still be in the same configuration.”

There will only be a couple of times or so when the freeway will be closed at the site entirely, but traffic will be rerouted over the on and off ramps, Bezates said.

Excavation and fill work will start within the next two weeks, cutting off some access to some local streets from the east, including Falcon Drive.

Local emergency services officials in attendance at the session just asked that the dispatching centers for city, county and state agencies be notified.

Much of the fill will arrive from the excavation work going on at the Stanton Boulevard extension project now underway, Bezates said.

“Highway 201 will see a lot of heavy truck traffic,” he said. But the North Ontario Interchange venture is not the only project taking place along Interstate 84 over the next two years, Woodworth said, noting work being done on the Snake River Bridges (see Argus Observer story, “ODOT projects gain early start,” March 20) and two other bridges in the area.

“There is a lot of construction going on (with) this short stretch of freeway,” he said. He told the assembled officials that if they have questions about either project, they should call him and he would put them in contact with the right person.

Referring to the North Ontario Interchange project, “This is one of the biggest projects we’re going to be doing in the state this year,” Woodworth said.




Comment Blog - Note: All Comments Subject To Approval

No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:

" Islam is a woman-hating, human-enslaving ideology that should NOT be taught in our public schools. It's obvious the Saudis and the rest of the Muslim fanatics who are trying to take over the world have bought off the State of Oregon. Expect lawsuits.

And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.

Disgusting. "

anonymous wrote on Aug 10, 2009 2:19 AM:

" The girl was Latasha Rodriguez "

Cody W. Ables wrote on May 16, 2008 11:04 PM:

" May 16, 2008

Here is something that we should all read. This is a letter from an angry woman in New Jersey regarding the War in Iraq and all of the war’s negative publicity. Pay attention.

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Did nearly three-thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was 'desecrated' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means quit reading. Should you choose to do so, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem' -- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add

'If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.' Also by.. Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said: 'A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.'

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
Important for us all!!!!
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM. AMEN!’


I hope you take this woman’s viewpoint into consideration. It closely parallels my own. As I begin my journey in becoming a soldier of the greatest country in the world, hearing this woman’s words sets my heart at ease. It is warming to know that there are people in this great country who still care about those men and women who have no choice.


Cody W. Ables
U.S. Air Force Academy 2012
"


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