Salt update

[dwarner]

Pulled in part from the minutes of the last Board/Reps meeting:

...BNI Report - Mike Waters reported that a group had gone to the salt. The salt is dry and hard. 
The courses were found and look good. Intrepid  had used a steam shovel to cut two places through the Salduro dike.
The fill in the ditch is still soft and make take several years to be able to drive across, discussion. The dates
for the 2009 meet have tentatively picked as August 8 to 16, discussion. Active military and children get in free.
There are approximately 485 entries for Speedweek. The Speedweek was moved to not conflict with any events that 
has been scheduled by any of the casinos.

Save the Salt - Russ Eyres attended a meeting with the BLM on June 11. The BLM has agreed to not replace the
geogolist that retired with a working geogolist. The new person will be an administrator type to check out
information. The BLM also agreed to cut the Salduro dike in two  places.  The low spot at the end of the road
has been about half filled and is still wet.  The BNI will fill the remainder and also the stuck area where the
RVs got stuck last year. Intrepid is to supply the salt. ...

DW
 

[Sumner]

................... Intrepid  had used a steam shovel to cut two places through the Salduro dike.
The fill in the ditch is still soft and make take several years to be able to drive across, discussion. ............................The BLM also agreed to cut the Salduro dike in two  places...............

Thanks Dan and could you or someone explain how the cuts in the dike effect us?  I guess I should know, but don't.  Is the Salduro dike the one that we kind of stay close to that is just to the east of the road going out there and just south of the starting line the last couple years??

Sum

[GH]

Thanks, Dan for that report. Things sound great at this time, cross your fingers. Just wondering what I am going to run short on, diesel fuel or $$$$$$$. I took a friend for a ride down the road this morning, the car seams to be running good, I hope to see you in impound.

[Elmo Rodge]

I drove out about 1/2 mile on Monday and everything I saw looked good. The end of the road was fine but then again it was dry. The part I drove on was very smooth. That's all I got. Wayno

[dwarner]

Sum,

Yes that is the same dyke. As mentioned in the report the fill will be too soft to drive on this year. I am told the cuts were for return roads, I know nothing else.

DW

[Wester]

Larry Volk said the intent is to build the Salduro breaks up with salt so the water doesn't cross the breaks.  The hope is the salt fill will create a low berm to make it possible to use that as a return road.

[Sumner]

Larry Volk said the intent is to build the Salduro breaks up with salt so the water doesn't cross the breaks.  The hope is the salt fill will create a low berm to make it possible to use that as a return road.

Hey thanks for that, but I'm more confused than ever.  The dike is that raised area to the east and south of the track, right?  Now they have cut through that to the other side, right?  So would you make a run, drive through/across what has been the dike and drive back up on the other side of it to another cut and drive back onto the salt near say the starting line??

Maybe I don't need to know, if so just tell me  ,

Sum

[Seldom Seen Slim]

It'd be best if we had a map or an aerial view of the Salt -- I'm as cornfused as the next guy about which dike is which.  I do know that certain individuals left the race area last year by driving directly from the start line area to I-80 -- chancing getting stuck in the mud, etc.  Perhaps this new work will make it so that that portion of the Salt is easier to access (than going to the traditional access road and all the way out to the course).  I don't know if I'm right -- and I don't like the idea of getting onto I-80 at an unofficial entry point (neither do the cops, I betcha!).

[DallasV]

If I understand correctly they cut 2 openings in the dike. Basicaly cutting off the corner of the dike so you can drive straight through. This would be good for two reasons. 1: if they ever have to put the starting line closer to the highway you would be able to cut through the dike cutting off an extra 1-1.5 miles by not having to drive all the way around the dike. 2: if they ever again get to run anywhere in the vacinity of the old international/hotrod course, and the couse runs too close to the corner of the dike (or the starting line was near the bend in the dike), cars could turn off to the right and be towed back through the dike and not be too close to the course (or be on the back side of the starting line). That's just how I understand it, but I've been wrong before.

[Sumner]

It'd be best if we had a map or an aerial view of the Salt --..

See if this helps, I think I see what they are planning....

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=bonneville+salts+flats&ll=40.769622,-113.874321&spn=0.059283,0.105743&t=h&z=13

............... on the image "C" is the road out there.  "D" is the top of the dike and the point where Dallas says we drive around the top of it and over to the right.  So if you came off the pavement and went pretty much straight you would cut through the dike and then be on the other side of it.  Then you would veer to the left (northeast) and drive up to where you would again hit the dike and drive through it.  This would avoid driving around the dike as it loops north and then back south again.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=bonneville+salts+flats&ll=40.82732,-113.796387&spn=0.236925,0.422974&t=h&z=11

I wonder what the ground is like driving on over there as we are always afraid to get near the edges of the salt now.  Evidently it must get pretty solid to consider this.

Sorry, but I couldn't figure a way to post the image in this post.  I never noticed before, but actually the dike cuts the rest of the salt off from the part you see if you stop at that view/visitors center along I80.

c ya,

Sum

[Seldom Seen Slim]

If I remember what this unnamed driver told me last year, and if I couple that with where the starting line was last year -- I think the fellow drove from the area of the line to I-80 about where the "I-80" symbol is, just to the right of the word Salduro.  It wasn't very far, I do remember him telling me that.  Nancy and I did not try it, four-wheel-drive notwithstanding.  I didn't care to take a chance on having some big divots in the surface named after me.  The salt is fragile and sacred -- drive only where it's been tested and marked to be safe.  Don't try exploring or you'll find out how much it can cost -- and how crabby the BLM and race officials can be.

[John Burk]

Why is the dike there ?

John

[John Nimphius]

Building on Johns' question, what is the dikes current function?  Is it different now than it was in the past?

[thundersalt]

I, by no means, know the in's and out's of Intrepid's operation, but, I always assumed the dyke had something to do with the even distribution of salt brine

[DallasV]

It's official name is the "Salduro Loop Collection Ditch" so I figure it's for funeling the brine to where it was needed. I'm not sure it has any purpose anymore seeing that there letting us cut big notches in it.