What's been going on along Kuebler Blvd. near Aumsville Hwy.?
Lee ClarksonProject: Floodplain grading project
Location: Kuebler Blvd. north of Turner Road SE
Description: A joint grading project between the City of Salem and Oregon Department of Administrative Services, moving soil to raise the elevation of portions of land east of Kuebler Blvd. above the 100-year flood plain of Mill Creek.
The project is located just south of the Mill Creek Corporate Center, between Aumsville Highway and Turner Road SE.
Aaron Kimsey, Program Manager with the City of Salem, provided the Statesman Journal with the following statement:
"The City of Salem and Oregon Department of Administrative Services have been working jointly to provide shovel-ready sites at the Mill Creek Industrial Park Urban Renewal Area/Mill Creek Corporate Center to encourage economic growth and business development that benefit the community.
"The City wetlands project has been designed in coordination with the DAS fill project so that both projects may be constructed under the same contract. Combining projects allows for the movement of heavy equipment and the utilization of the same materials for operational efficiency and cost savings. Development land adjacent to Mill Creek is mapped in the Federal Emergency Management Agency 100-year floodplain.
"The fill project will direct stormwater to the south wetlands and raise the grade of the property outside the floodplain to encourage development of the property for employment purposes."
By combining the projects, "the city saves the cost of exporting soil from the wetland excavation, and DAS saves the cost of importing fill at a later date," DAS Communications Director Liz Craig said.
Next year, the City of Salem will follow up with another smaller contract to plant the wetlands that were constructed with this year’s project, Kimsey said.
Sources: City of Salem, Oregon Department of Administrative Services
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