Channel Dredging date set

Pacific Northwest political and business leaders hailed the Army Corps of Engineers recent announcement that dredging construction on the Columbia River Navigation Channel Improvement Project will begin this spring or summer as great economic news for the region's economy.

"The construction agreement will permit the Corps to deepen approximately 15 miles of the lower Columbia's 103-mile, 40-foot deep navigation channel to 43 feet by the end of 2005. Additionally, the sponsor ports are authorized to use non-federal funds and the Port of Portland's Dredge OREGON to deepen the upper 10 miles of the project.

Mall Garage Open for Holidays

Construction just wrapped up in time for holiday shoppers on Washington Square Mall's new garage, lcoated near Portland. The four-level, 575-stall garage is Phase I of a two-phase addition and renovation program.

The garage structure comprises full-height precast concrete columns and long span precast beams with cast-in-place post-tensioned floor decks and perimeter moment frame beams. The hybrid precast/cast-in-place system offers increased seismic performance, an open plan layout for increased visibility and security, and reduced massing for a more open architectural aesthetic.

Steel and concrete pedestrian bridges link the garage with adjacent Nordstrom and Sears department stores, featuring steel cable railing and stainless steel mesh panel articulations. New signage on the garage's southwest corner provides the center with increased visibility.

Construction of Phase II started in January 2005 and is scheduled for completion by year's end. Phase II encompasses the addition of approximately 80,000-sq.-ft. of new tenant space, related improvements to the existing mall, and a new two-level parking garage offering approximately 500 new stalls. Together, both phases will transform the mall's entire western face with a revitalized image.

Washington Square is owned by The Macerich Co. For this project, Howard S. Wright Construction Co. is the general contractor. DLR Group is the architect, structural engineer, electrical engineer and mechanical engineer. W&H Pacific is the civil engineer and landscape architect.

Lane Transit Finishes Station

Springfield, OR - Lane Transit District has for years offered the citizens of Lane County alternative transportation options. Now, with the recent opening of the new Springfield Station, LTD offers the community a new station designed with the latest sustainable technologies as well. The new station at 4th and South ÔA's Street in downtown Springfield that opened in October offers natural gardens, open shelters, ample parking and a beautiful 5,300-sq.- ft tenant building to the 1,700 daily riders who pass through. The new station is also a critical hub for the LTD's bus rapid transit project, EmX, the first phase of which will link downtown Eugene to downtown Springfield.

The first major new development in downtown Springfield in almost 30 years, the station brings hope of future revitalization to a city center that has struggled in recent years. Oregon's congressional delegation helped secure federal funds for the $3.7 million construction project. LTD hopes to lease the 3,400-sq.- ft. tenant space to local businesses.

LTD worked with local citizens, businesses, officials, architects and engineers over the last several years to realize the goal of a new sustainably-designed station. General public input, a design review committee and LTD staff guided the design process towards an environmentally-friendly station. Sustainable technologies such as bioswales to filter and cool storm water, energy-efficient luminaires for site lighting and a ground-source heat pump to heat and cool the building were used where feasible.

Project architects, WBGS Architecture and Planning, PC, teamed up with several well-known Oregon firms to bring sustainable technologies to Springfield. Storm water quality bioswales, designed by Portland civil engineers Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, cool and clean storm water before it is released to the mill race. A garden at the heart of the bus platform, designed by Cameron McCarthy Gilbert & Scheibi Landscape Architects of Eugene, helps to manage some site storm water while offering riders a view of seasonally colorful plantings. The building's heating and cooling is accomplished with an efficient ground-source heat pump designed by Systems West Engineers of Eugene. The system uses 16 geothermal wells as deep as a football field to transfer heat with the ground. Portland electrical engineering firm Reyes Engineering, Inc. designed the electrical systems, including lighting, which incorporated various energy efficient fluorescent and Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology sources to reduce maintenance and energy costs, telecommunications with high speed copper and fiber optic links to the system wide LTD network, fire alarm, and security systems with closed circuit television surveillance throughout the site. The building and stylishly cantilevered steel and wood bus shelters were structurally engineered by Eugene engineering firm Hohbach-Lewin, Inc. Site signage was designed by Portland visual communications firm Mayer/Reed. WBGS and Mayer/Reed teamed up to design the 30-foot tall "rain funnel" structure that marks the entrance to the station and delivers rain water to the platform garden.