CORVALLIS/EUGENE, Ore. -- Many Duck fans in Eugene won't have to do too much driving because the game is at Autzen. Yet for Beaver fans coming down from Corvallis, the real challenge isn't the game but the drive.
With a sold-out Autzen Stadium, ODOT says they're expecting an extra 12,000-15,000 vehicles on Interstate 5. So, law enforcement agencies like Oregon State Police will patrol the highways that lead to the Civil War. They say the extra traffic means more chances for disaster.
Officials are urging traveling fans to start their trip early, have a designated driver, and know their limits. Yet some veteran Beaver believers have their own secret routes, but they're not telling where they are. Many of the Beaver fans we spoke with say they may head down to Eugene Wednesday and stay at a hotel. Others say they'll spend the night Thursday so they can celebrate.
ODOT wants game day travelers to be aware of a couple roadway changes that will affect traffic:
* Pioneer Parkway exit of Interstate 105 will be closed for an hour after the game to help control Springfield area traffic. A variable message sign will be posted at the exit and in other locations to advise drivers of potential problems or travel changes.
* Construction on the new Willamette River Bridge replacement has led to a closure of the Franklin Boulevard on-ramp to southbound Interstate 5. The detour will be signed but it will affect fans leaving Eugene for points south.
Showing posts with label Oregon State University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oregon State University. Show all posts
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Ore. workshops planned on tsunami buildings
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_or_tsunami_buildings.html?source=mypi
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANNON BEACH, Ore. -- Should an earthquake generate a tsunami on the Oregon coast, there might be only 20 minutes to get to high ground.
But regional leaders, engineers and scientists plan to gather next week in Cannon Beach and Portland to talk about a different option - a tsunami evacuation building, or TEB.
Former Cannon Beach Mayor Jay Raskin, president of Ecola Architects, has designed a conceptual city hall building that could double as a TEB. Built of concrete, it would sit about 15 feet above the water on pilings, allowing water to flow under it. He says such a building would not only save lives but would allow city government to function after a disaster.
Japan has about a dozen such buildings that have been around 15 to 20 years, said Harry Yeh, the Edwards professor of coastal and ocean engineering at Oregon State University. But in other areas, the idea has not been popular, largely because tsunamis do not occur that often.
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency released guidelines for the structures, sometimes referred to as vertical evacuation buildings.
The basic concept could be applied to even simpler structures, such as platforms that could be built in state parks and on beaches, said Yumei Wang, the geohazards team leader with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.
"It would be like a glorified lifeguard chair," she said. "It would have to be concrete, very robust." The structures could do double duty as heliports or whale-watching platforms, Wang added.
Her design features five legs, a round top and numerous ladders.
"This is no frills thing," she said.
Raskin says the building he envisions might cost $4 million, double that of a traditional building.
"We are trying to get the information to go to our citizens and say we want to do this and this is how much it is going to cost," he said. "We know it is a lot more expensive, but it needs to be done. We need to figure out the funding."
And he adds, "We've invited the visitors to the coast and we need to keep them safe."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANNON BEACH, Ore. -- Should an earthquake generate a tsunami on the Oregon coast, there might be only 20 minutes to get to high ground.
But regional leaders, engineers and scientists plan to gather next week in Cannon Beach and Portland to talk about a different option - a tsunami evacuation building, or TEB.
Former Cannon Beach Mayor Jay Raskin, president of Ecola Architects, has designed a conceptual city hall building that could double as a TEB. Built of concrete, it would sit about 15 feet above the water on pilings, allowing water to flow under it. He says such a building would not only save lives but would allow city government to function after a disaster.
Japan has about a dozen such buildings that have been around 15 to 20 years, said Harry Yeh, the Edwards professor of coastal and ocean engineering at Oregon State University. But in other areas, the idea has not been popular, largely because tsunamis do not occur that often.
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency released guidelines for the structures, sometimes referred to as vertical evacuation buildings.
The basic concept could be applied to even simpler structures, such as platforms that could be built in state parks and on beaches, said Yumei Wang, the geohazards team leader with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.
"It would be like a glorified lifeguard chair," she said. "It would have to be concrete, very robust." The structures could do double duty as heliports or whale-watching platforms, Wang added.
Her design features five legs, a round top and numerous ladders.
"This is no frills thing," she said.
Raskin says the building he envisions might cost $4 million, double that of a traditional building.
"We are trying to get the information to go to our citizens and say we want to do this and this is how much it is going to cost," he said. "We know it is a lot more expensive, but it needs to be done. We need to figure out the funding."
And he adds, "We've invited the visitors to the coast and we need to keep them safe."
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Part of Vast Ocean Observing network will be in Newport
by Matthew Preusch, The Oregonian
Wednesday September 02, 2009, 1:20 PM
OSU scientists will build an ocean array of instruments and gliders off the coast of Newport as their part of a $386 million ocean observatory network. Not long after landing the Pacific fleet of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Newport is getting another feather in its cap.
The coast city will soon be home to one piece of a $386 million world-wide ocean observing network announced today.
Oregon State University researchers will spend $14 million over the next five years to create a network of surface moorings, seafloor platforms and undersea gliders in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Newport and Grays Harbor, Wash.
"This project will be transformative in that our ability to observe and monitor the ocean will be constant - 24 hours a day instead of the episodic nature of a week at sea here and there," said Mark Abbott, dean of OSU's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.
The sites in the Northwest are just one part of a global observation network called the Ocean Observatories Initiative that is essentially a massive infrastructure project to collect data on world's oceans, data that will be used to better understand climate change, tsunamis, ocean acidification and other phenomenons.
This is one of several autonomous underwater gliders that will continuously sample Pacific Northwest ocean waters as part of a new ocean observatory initiative.
The initiative stems from a cooperative agreement between the National Science Foundation and the private Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Construction is scheduled to begin in September with $106 million in taxpayer money from the stimulus bill and another nearly $6 million from the science foundation.
The global network is being led by OSU oceanographer Tim Cowles, who is serving as director of the Ocean Observatories Initiative program office at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.
The six observation sites - three off the coast of Newport, three near Grays Harbor- that OSU is responsible for developing will together be called the Endurance Array.
The ocean sites will be connected to a cable that will provide power and high bandwidth communication. That part of the network will be installed by the University of Washington, which is receiving $126 million. The Seattle-based university also plans to build a seafloor observatory on the Juan de Fuca Plate and a shore station near Pacific City.
"It will be like having underwater laboratories at each location," said Robert Collier, an OSU oceanographer and project manager for the array. "One of the limitations of ocean research has been the lack of power and connectivity. That will no longer be a problem."
Consortium for Ocean LeadershipA map of the proposed $386 million Ocean Observatories Initiative announced today.
Collier said the sites will have instruments to measure things like water temperature, salinity and carbon dioxide levels.
"Once we turn this thing on, the data we gather within a year will be staggering, " said Oregon State University oceanographer Jack Barth. "It will provide information on climate change, ocean biology, winds and currents...on just about everything. We will be able to analyze storms at sea for the first time and actually measure how much carbon dioxide gets washed out from the near-shore to the deep ocean. The possibilities are endless."
Instruments should be in the water by 2012, and the project is designed to last 25 years. Officials said they would work with fishers and coastal communities to determine locations for the moorings required to anchor some of the instruments.
The creation of the sites off the coast of Newport, already home to the Hatfield Marine Science Center and soon to be home to the NOAA research fleet, will add to the city's growing reputation as a research hub.
"It is clear that we are well on the way to achieving a critical mass in oceanic sciences, thanks to the combined effort of the legislature, the governor and the federal government," said State Sen. Betsy Johnson, who chairs the Oregon Coastal Caucus.
-- Matthew Preusch, mattpreusch@news.oregonian.com, Twitter: @mpreusch
Wednesday September 02, 2009, 1:20 PM
OSU scientists will build an ocean array of instruments and gliders off the coast of Newport as their part of a $386 million ocean observatory network. Not long after landing the Pacific fleet of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Newport is getting another feather in its cap.
The coast city will soon be home to one piece of a $386 million world-wide ocean observing network announced today.
Oregon State University researchers will spend $14 million over the next five years to create a network of surface moorings, seafloor platforms and undersea gliders in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Newport and Grays Harbor, Wash.
"This project will be transformative in that our ability to observe and monitor the ocean will be constant - 24 hours a day instead of the episodic nature of a week at sea here and there," said Mark Abbott, dean of OSU's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.
The sites in the Northwest are just one part of a global observation network called the Ocean Observatories Initiative that is essentially a massive infrastructure project to collect data on world's oceans, data that will be used to better understand climate change, tsunamis, ocean acidification and other phenomenons.
This is one of several autonomous underwater gliders that will continuously sample Pacific Northwest ocean waters as part of a new ocean observatory initiative.
The initiative stems from a cooperative agreement between the National Science Foundation and the private Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Construction is scheduled to begin in September with $106 million in taxpayer money from the stimulus bill and another nearly $6 million from the science foundation.
The global network is being led by OSU oceanographer Tim Cowles, who is serving as director of the Ocean Observatories Initiative program office at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.
The six observation sites - three off the coast of Newport, three near Grays Harbor- that OSU is responsible for developing will together be called the Endurance Array.
The ocean sites will be connected to a cable that will provide power and high bandwidth communication. That part of the network will be installed by the University of Washington, which is receiving $126 million. The Seattle-based university also plans to build a seafloor observatory on the Juan de Fuca Plate and a shore station near Pacific City.
"It will be like having underwater laboratories at each location," said Robert Collier, an OSU oceanographer and project manager for the array. "One of the limitations of ocean research has been the lack of power and connectivity. That will no longer be a problem."
Consortium for Ocean LeadershipA map of the proposed $386 million Ocean Observatories Initiative announced today.
Collier said the sites will have instruments to measure things like water temperature, salinity and carbon dioxide levels.
"Once we turn this thing on, the data we gather within a year will be staggering, " said Oregon State University oceanographer Jack Barth. "It will provide information on climate change, ocean biology, winds and currents...on just about everything. We will be able to analyze storms at sea for the first time and actually measure how much carbon dioxide gets washed out from the near-shore to the deep ocean. The possibilities are endless."
Instruments should be in the water by 2012, and the project is designed to last 25 years. Officials said they would work with fishers and coastal communities to determine locations for the moorings required to anchor some of the instruments.
The creation of the sites off the coast of Newport, already home to the Hatfield Marine Science Center and soon to be home to the NOAA research fleet, will add to the city's growing reputation as a research hub.
"It is clear that we are well on the way to achieving a critical mass in oceanic sciences, thanks to the combined effort of the legislature, the governor and the federal government," said State Sen. Betsy Johnson, who chairs the Oregon Coastal Caucus.
-- Matthew Preusch, mattpreusch@news.oregonian.com, Twitter: @mpreusch
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Prepare now to prevent earthquake loss - Statesman Journal July 1
Simple steps can minimize damage to property, family
"We cannot prevent earthquakes, but we can learn to live with them and to survive them. When the inevitable earthquake strikes, we can be ready. But today, we are not." — Robert S. Yeats, Professor Emeritus Oregon State University and author of Living with Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest does have earthquakes as evidenced in 2001 by the Nisqually quake near Olympia, Wash. This caused toppled chimneys, collapsed buildings and bridges, disrupted gas, electric, and phone service, injured 407 people, and resulted in one death due to a heart attack.
Once an earthquake hits it is too late to protect your family and home. But there are ways to prepare now. Sometimes a little time and a few dollars are all you need to make things safer.
Homeowners, have your home evaluated by a structural design engineer to find out how to strengthen porches, decks, sliding glass doors, canopies, carports, and garage doors.
Check to see if your house is bolted to its foundations and the chimney is properly secured. Anchor fuel tanks and wood-burning stoves securely to the floor and repair defective electrical wiring.
Consider purchasing an emergency generator and use it only in well ventilated areas.
Inside, hang pictures and mirrors away from beds and seating areas. Secure the TV, computer and stereo and strap the water heater to wall studs. Bolt bookcases, china cabinets and other tall furniture to wall studs and brace or anchor top-heavy objects. Secure kitchen equipment to the floor, wall or countertop.
These are only a few of the things you can do to help reduce the probability of serious injury and major expense from an earthquake.
Be prepared — for your family's sake.
For more information about earthquakes, go to www.oregongeology.org
Jennifer Bailey, formerly of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the Public Affairs Coordinator of Oregon Emergency Management. She may be reached at (503) 378-2911, Ext. 22294, or jbailey@oem.state.or.us. Additional Facts
Learn more
Send questions about emergency preparedness to be answered in this column to jbailey@oem.state.or.us. Other information may be found at www.oregon. gov/omd/oem or www.fema.gov.
"We cannot prevent earthquakes, but we can learn to live with them and to survive them. When the inevitable earthquake strikes, we can be ready. But today, we are not." — Robert S. Yeats, Professor Emeritus Oregon State University and author of Living with Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest does have earthquakes as evidenced in 2001 by the Nisqually quake near Olympia, Wash. This caused toppled chimneys, collapsed buildings and bridges, disrupted gas, electric, and phone service, injured 407 people, and resulted in one death due to a heart attack.
Once an earthquake hits it is too late to protect your family and home. But there are ways to prepare now. Sometimes a little time and a few dollars are all you need to make things safer.
Homeowners, have your home evaluated by a structural design engineer to find out how to strengthen porches, decks, sliding glass doors, canopies, carports, and garage doors.
Check to see if your house is bolted to its foundations and the chimney is properly secured. Anchor fuel tanks and wood-burning stoves securely to the floor and repair defective electrical wiring.
Consider purchasing an emergency generator and use it only in well ventilated areas.
Inside, hang pictures and mirrors away from beds and seating areas. Secure the TV, computer and stereo and strap the water heater to wall studs. Bolt bookcases, china cabinets and other tall furniture to wall studs and brace or anchor top-heavy objects. Secure kitchen equipment to the floor, wall or countertop.
These are only a few of the things you can do to help reduce the probability of serious injury and major expense from an earthquake.
Be prepared — for your family's sake.
For more information about earthquakes, go to www.oregongeology.org
Jennifer Bailey, formerly of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the Public Affairs Coordinator of Oregon Emergency Management. She may be reached at (503) 378-2911, Ext. 22294, or jbailey@oem.state.or.us. Additional Facts
Learn more
Send questions about emergency preparedness to be answered in this column to jbailey@oem.state.or.us. Other information may be found at www.oregon. gov/omd/oem or www.fema.gov.
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