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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend September 18, 2006 Wal-Mart site work under way By Jennifer Strange for the Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — That great mound of dirt on Highway 62 near the site of a future Wal-Mart Supercenter isn't a platform for the store, it's a "surcharge" — a heavy pile of soil being used as a weight to pack down the earth below. "It's pretty monumental in size and there's been a lot of speculation about 'is the store going on top of that,' " said Eagle Point City Planner Bunny Lincoln. "In fact, it's not. It's all part of the site development to make sure the ground is completely stable under the store." The dirt mound is part of an engineering technique called "mass grading" or "earthwork," said Sean Mallon, project manager for PacLand, the Portland engineering firm overseeing the business park project that includes Wal-Mart. CSI Construction — the Portland firm that also is in charge of a Home Depot project in Phoenix — will build the Wal-Mart structure. "First they moved dirt around to create the building pad and then they do a surcharge," Mallon explained. About 6 feet in depth, the surcharge forces a presettling of the land on the building pad. After two months of settling, the surcharge will be removed, the pad will be scraped, a sub-base of crushed rock will be laid and then a concrete pad will be installed. "It's a pretty involved process of bringing the whole site up to grade," Mallon said. "It's a pretty complicated site — all the permitting, there's a lot of earthwork, a lot of dirt to be moved around." Advertisement But not all of the construction in the area is Wal-Mart- related. Another project — mining a nearby rockbed — is under way, said Mallon, which brings more trucks and workers and dirt to the scene. "Some people might be looking across and seeing a lot of work going on and when I was out there, it sure seemed a lot bigger than what I have on my plans," Mallon said. "But they are two separate projects." Currently on schedule, the Wal-Mart project is about two months into its estimated 14 months until completion. In addition to development of the site and building of the supercenter, more than 7 acres of wetlands are being "mitigated," essentially replaced elsewhere, and Hannon Road is being relocated and widened for store access. The road will remain closed until January 2007. Residential and emergency-vehicle traffic will be allowed on the closed stretch from Nick Young Road to East Linn Road. The city approved the 184,719-square-foot store as part of a 25-acre business park between Highway 62 and Hannon Road in June 2005 after negotiating with the Wal-Mart company for more than a year. Jennifer Strange is a freelance writer living in Central Point. Reach her at [email protected]. Mitigation site replaces lost wetlands: EAGLE POINT — Required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to mitigate more than seven acres of wetlands in exchange for receiving a permit to build a supercenter on Highway 62, Wal-Mart has handed the project over to a local developer. Chris Galpin, owner of Galpin LLC in Medford, sold Wal-Mart its portion of the 25-acre planned business park between Highway 62 and Hannon Road last year. Galpin LLC was at that time also developing a 300-acre subdivision between Kirtland Road, Truax and Highbanks in the Bear Creek area for which some wetlands mitigation was required. To kill two birds with one stone, Galpin LLC proposed combining the Wal-Mart and subdivision mitigation projects into one plot approximately 10 acres in size located about 61/2 miles northwest of the Wal-Mart site. "They've got one big mitigation site for two permitted activities, which is actually really smart because all the mitigation is connected instead of in pieces all over the place," said Bob Lobdell, natural resource coordinator at Oregon Department of State Lands. The wetlands will essentially replace existing wetlands being covered over by the shopping center. In the end there will be more wetland acreage in the area. Based on data samples and records, the Corps determined the mitigation would include emergent wetlands, consisting of damp ground with herbaceous-dominated plants and scrub shrub, featuring drier land populated by woody vegetation. "Now the project is largely finished," said Lobdell. "All they need to do is monitor the mitigation site for the remainder of the five years." Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing UK Homeowner Loans GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Texas Electric Choice Entertainment Guide Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com