Giant rocks, heading to the beach, scare Portland commuters
By Joseph Rose, The Oregonian
February 09, 2010
see link for photo:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index...o_the_bea.html
How's this for a highway mystery?
Someone's hauling giant boulders one by one through some of the Portland area's heaviest traffic. Freaked-out motorists have reported seeing the towering rocks chained to trailers on Interstate 5, the Fremont Bridge and U.S. 26.
Who is it?
"We can't say for sure," said Lou Torres, an Oregon Department of Ttansportation spokesman. "Apparently, whoever's hauling these things didn't need a permit."
Actually, the answer can be found with a quick search of federal stimulus projects. The 35-ton boulders are headed to the coast, where the Port of Girabaldi is using them to repair Tillamook Bay's north jetty.
The $16.1 million stimulus-funded project will improve treacherous coastal waters that have claimed the lives of 20 fishermen since 1992. "Great to see the big rocks finally arriving," said Tillamook County Commissioner Tim Josi.
The project calls for 1,100 boulders from two Washington quarries, with three a day rolling through Portland until August.
Kevin Greenwood, the port's manager, understands why the rocks give commuters a scare. Each is about the size of the movie boulder that chased Indiana Jones.
"Fortunately," he said. "they're not pefectly round like that."