http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmIl6SsSyoI&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixONHBCGSEw&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyPqqUu4ojw

Idaho residents may have some impact on this.

As you can imagine the locals are irate, although the businesses probably are not (haven't done any market research, but just my assumption). My family lives in Kamiah, right in the heart of the clearwater canyons and believe me, it is one of the most scenic "single" lane highways in the west. It's sizable rock canyons would have to be blasted to straighten what is one of the more meandering roads one can drive. it travels almost entirely along the drainage. It would be catastrophic in my opinion.

All in the name of big business, money and politics. Three things that always take precedence over nature and wildlife Every time I take the drive, which is quite often, I want to just pull over and puke with the thought of this project. Some say it will bring business to the stuggling economies of Kooskia, Orophino, Kamiah etc... Isn't that always the rationale when it comes to destroying mother natures gems.

So Americans don't want to be dependent on foreign oil. Then when we do something about it everyone is up in arms because "its in my neighborhood."

Not saying this is good one way or the other as it seems they could find a different route to get the four loads of machinery thru Idaho but as Americans we have really got into the bad habit of actualy not wanting what we say we want!

Wa state is a perfect example. We elect tax and spend candidates and then pass Eymen anti tax initiatives

Not sure it's a do we need oil issue as much as why can't this equipment be dismantled into smaller loads? Money I guess.

Well not sure about Idaho but as a people we have not come to grips with things. Mass., real enviros until they wanted wind turbines in the ocean the NIMBY big time, here it was the Marble Murret at Radar Ridge. All human activities have impacts.

Let us try this. Apply the the same accumulative impacts to the road in Idaho that the urban population growth in Puget Sound had in the last 15 years. If you did that my guess is you could dig a tunnel and get rid of the river and not come close. It is the accumulative total we must look at but NIMBY is far easier ...................... sells better to in home districts of legislators.

As someone who just went through a similar situation in my back yard I feel for the people here. But my dealings with the power industry is it has to be massive. Grand Coulee's or 1100ft mega tankers that even the local Bar Pilots felt didn't belong in the Columbia. Not sure what that big piece of equipment is (centerfuge) but I'll bet it can be dismantled into something smaller for the right price.

The problem with your theory is that most of this equipment is going to Canada.

The worst part about this situation, is that the oil companies started bringing their equipment into Lewiston BEFORE anyone ever knew about this project and before they had approval to move this $hit. They automatically assumed the local governments would cave.

I'm sure I've seen one of these things being barged up the Columbia, didn't know what it was but it was huge.

I should add that the plans were to start shipping in late fall. It must have become apparent to whoever is in charge of this operation that you can't drive up a highway that's been shut down for the winter because of snow.

I doubt they could realistically start trucking again until early May. The highway is open again before early May, but this area regularly gets snow at the higher portions through July.

I'm a little confused at to the amount of equipment and number of shipments are in the works?

If the highway is redone to handle this traffic, will it be a continual thing for many years?

If the shipping is just going to occur a few times, instead of rebuilding a highway which will cost millions and likely produce environmental problems, would it be possible to close the highway for several hours, except for emergency vehicles and get the equipment moved and be done with it.

I realize that this could be very inconvenient for local residents along the highway, but rebuilding a highway would result in months of inconvenience for the highway users.

Instead of this giant stuff being built offshore, it seems to me that it should have been done in Alberta where it would provide jobs and much shorter shipping routes.

I remember photographing the dragline operations at Ft. McMurray for Fortune Magazine many years ago. At that time they were using draglines that where seven stories high and the bulldozers where the largest Catapilllar(SP?) made, yet they looked like toy cars alongside the dragline machinery.

Somehow that equipment had to be hauled there from somewhere?

The large shovels & drag lines are manufactured off site and shipped and assembled. Seldom are they taken apart and moved but are sold for scrap when done. Large things like the one in the picture before have very stiff quality control criteria that does not permit on site construction unless you build a complete fabrication facility.

You know not harping but ............... You want to read a ongoing horror story. Goggle up Pennsylvania and the mad dash going on in natural gas. PA allows the waste water to be discharged into streams untreated. Metal, salt, the works. Compared to that the Idaho thing is small potatoes, unless your in the area, then not so.

The USA has huge natural gas reserves that are going to be developed rapidly and are. The coming energy thing we dodged a couple of times is going to get front and center soon. So the challenge will be how do you deal with environmental issues and others. Article in the paper today has a coal exporting facility for a Aussie firm moving forward in permitting and the state got involved to get it done right. ( so the article said ) Enviros are suing on the global warming thing which should be interesting to watch.

Edit: The coal shipping port was on the Columbia. Forgot to put that in.

I would be really surprised if they plan on restoring the highway in the next 50 years. The Oilsands project is as big or bigger than the North Slope project was in the 70's. Lots of equipment will need to brought in and replaced over the lifespan of this project, and since the Port of Lewiston is being used as a staging area it might be really tough to argue the Snake River dams are unnecessary..

You might be correct about them looking for justification.
The whole river is closed to shipping for four months to repair several locks.
Port of Portland is offering a $400 rebate per container shipped to Portland by rail or truck.
Otherwise the freight is moving smoothly to Tacoma, not the end of the world scenario the dam huggers are preaching.

i thought I saw a date stamp on one of the videos from last june, so Im not sure why this is just coming to light now. A guy from another board lives in the area and is actually supportive. When he mention that gasoline tankers cross that pass, I had to pause. That is a bad idea.
They will supposedly bury some power lines and widen the road in several areas. My main bitch is using the columbia and justifying the locks for another project. I wouldnt mind keeping those around until we take down Grand Coulee.

Take down Grand Coulee! God I love a good joke!

Chit nobody can agree on which culvert pipe to take out much less a dam.

Grand Coulee is a hydro electric dam, the four lower Snake River dams are nothing more than a series of locks.

Well that didnt take long.

Stop! Stop! Stop! I can't stand it. Take down the dams!!!! You Columbia River guys are killing me!!!! God what a sense of humor.

I've got to admit, you make a really good case for mandatory sterilization and higher education.