Knife River Corp.’s Central Oregon and Southern Idaho Divisions recently teamed up to win the bid on an Oregon Department of Transportation (O-DOT) project worth $33.8 million.

The Interstate 84 Pleasant Valley – Durbin Creek Road Section Project is two projects combined into one. The first project, I-84 Pleasant Valley – Durkee Section, is a reconstruction of approximately 10 miles of I-84. The second project, I-84 Burnt River Freight Improvement Section, is approximately 20 miles and consists of two large curve corrections. The curves will be control blasted and excavated and hauled to designated dump sites. New sections of road, storm drainage and a concrete barrier will be built to lessen curvature of the road. The remainder of the project includes installation of 10,000 linear feet of electrical trenching, variable message signs, weather information and traffic stations, and a large sign bridge. Work on the project is anticipated to begin March 1, and is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 1, 2010.

“This is a great way to start 2008,” says Mike Hutchens, construction division co-manager for Knife River. “As we begin this long-term project, we will focus on safety for both the motoring public and our employees, and we will manage the work with concern and consideration to the flow of traffic in the construction areas.”

Knife River Corporation mines aggregates and markets crushed stone, sand, gravel and related construction materials including ready-mixed concrete, cement, asphalt, liquid asphalt and other value-added products. It also performs integrated construction services. Knife River operates in the central, southern and western United States and Alaska and Hawaii. Knife River is an indirect subsidiary of MDU Resources Group Inc., a multidimensional natural resource enterprise traded on the New York Stock Exchange as “MDU.” For more information about Knife River, visit the company’s Web site at www.kniferiver.com