Zoltan Grossman, a geography professor at The Evergreen State College outside of Olympia, Washington, has been digging into the facts surrounding the collapse of the I-5 bridge across the Skagit River north of Seattle. The picture he is putting together of this incident is even more shocking than we initially believed. Mullen Trucking, the Calgary based operator of the truck that hit the span is involved in hauling large and heavy drilling from the Port of Vancouver, WA, to the Alberta Tar Sands field. The equipment is placed in a large box for the trip north and east from Vancouver, WA. After unloading the trucks return to Vancouver with the empty housing boxes to be loaded again. The truck that hit the bridge was carrying one of those large housing boxes back to Vancouver for another load of drilling equipment.
Thanks to Zoltan there is more below the flying orange squig.
Initially, these trucks were routed East across Oregon, Northern Idaho and into Montana before heading north into Alberta. Because of organized protests in Missoula, Mullen started diverting some of their drilling cargo north on I-5 through Seattle to take some of the pressure off Montana, however, they continue to use the Montana route as well.
Mullen Trucking L. P. is no two-bit player in the business of moving drilling rigs. It has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion according to Anil Tahiliani, portfolio manager with McLean and Partners Wealth Management in Calgary. Mullen will be in Booth 2001 at the Oil Sands Trade Show and Conference, Sept. 10-11, 2013 in Fort McMurray, Alberta. They operate the largest specialized fleet in Western Canada with 140 trucks and 450 trailers designed to haul drilling equipment.
Professor Grossman provides the following links to sources for his analysis:
"The tractor-trailer was hauling drilling equipment housing to Vancouver, Wash."
http://www.gazettetimes.com/...
Mullen Trucking has "escorted numerous loads destined for the tar sands":
http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/...
Mullen Trucking at Oil Sands Trade Show
http://oilsandstradeshow.com/...
"There are some big players in the logistics industry in Alberta's oil sands. For example, Mullen Trucking L.P. has a $2.5 billion market cap. Terrible road conditions mean trucking equipment around is hugely important...rig-moving equipment is 'the latest thing.'"
http://www.oregonlive.com/...
"Opponents force Imperial Oil to send megaloads to Canada's oil sands on interstates, avoiding scenic highways" (with map)
http://www.oregonlive.com/...
All Against the Haul
http://allagainstthehaul.org
It would appear that the environmental damage of the Tar Sands/Keystone Pipeline Project is beyond our is beyond our worst fears and will only get worse.
The tentacles of that monstrosity reach across our country and Canada.
Interesting Side Note:
Professor Grossmans diligent discovery is the Second Grand Slam for Evergreen State College this Spring. Thomas Herndon, the grad student at the University of Massachusetts who exposed Reinhart and Rogoff's treatise on National Debt and Economic Growth as a fraud is an Evergreen graduate.