Drilling for Light

Jeremy Tjaden, pronounced jay-den, walks the shoulder along the Interstate 84 on-ramp on West Second Street this morning, Thursday, April 29. Tjaden is with Evergreen Developers of Oregon City and is currently contracted with the Oregon Department of Transportation to install 1,100 linear feet of 2-inch electrical conduit to power nine new light poles that will be installed by ODOT at a later date.

The new light poles will be erected from Second and Webber streets - near Casa El Mirador restaurant - to the I-84 on-ramp to provide drivers better visibility at night.

The work requires drilling several hundred feet under roads so that conduits can be connected to junction boxes located within the island and other nearby locations at the intersection to power the light poles. Drilling eliminated the need to shut down traffic to do the work.

Tjaden, who has grandparents in The Dalles, said his company is a disadvantaged business enterprise, meaning it is at least 51% owned by: Minorities: Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans and Subcontinent Asian Americans; Women; Other individuals on a case-by-case basis.

“We are utilizing local resources and put as much back into the local economy that we can,” he said noting he and his crew are staying in Dallesport, purchasing from Platt Electric, Munsen Paving and renting Equipment from Peterson Cat in The Dalles.

In addition, North Ridge Electric of Hood River was also subcontracted for the job.

John Thompson, right, and Colby Qualey of Extreme Excavating of Oregon City prepare a drill to bore under West Second Street so that electrical conduit can be installed for new lightpoles at the I-84 onramp in The Dalles.