Page 351 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong
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on those preliminary contracts were all headquar- tered in the Bay Area,” says Bill Doyle, who had been manager of Peterson’s new Chico store at the time. “They already knew us because we had supported them multiple times on other jobs. And they were accustomed to our level of product sup- port.” Sometime in 1957, Guy F. Atkinson, among others, went to Caterpillar to request that Peterson be given the territory—and Cat listened. In July 1958, Peterson was officially awarded the territory formerly held by Sierra Tractor & Equipment Co. out of Redding and Chico. Peterson’s new Chico store was built specifically to support the dam con- struction.
OMAN (1960S)
Oroville Dam was a game changer for Peterson. It not only earned new territory for the young Cat- erpillar dealership, but it pushed the limits on how to support such mammoth earthmoving projects. Peterson made heavy use of its parts drop system, begun a few years earlier at Trinity Dam. Oroville was also the main reason for bringing the nightly shuttle truck up north, according to Fred Knowles, Peterson’s parts truck driver (1965-95). And for expediency in parts deliveries and technical sup- port, Peterson built landing strips behind both of its new facilities in Chico and Redding. The dam also used a number of custom-built machines in- cluding Quad D9s, a special dual 631 compactor, and customized 100-ton Athey bottom dumps— all designed and patented by Buster Peterson.
Back then, the bid went to Oro Dam Construc- tors, a joint venture of six giants led by Oman Construction out of Nashville. The contractor chose to use a railroad system to transport material from borrow pit to dam site, a giant bucket-wheel excavator and transfer conveyors, plus scores of traditional earthmovers—including fourteen Cat D8s, eight Cat D9s, twenty Euclid end-dumps,
and twenty Cat 660 wheel tractors with Athey bottom-dump wagons. In the end, the main Or- oville dam contract moved 14,767,000 cubic yards of material and used 77,520,000 cubic yards of earth fill and 320,000 cubic yards of concrete in the embankment wall.1 At 770 feet high, Oroville continues to stand as the tallest earthen dam in the United States.
   The Oroville Dam—here on Jan 6, 1967—was completed on Oct 6, 1967
KIEWIT MOBILIZES (2017)
In May 2017, Kiewit was able to hit the ground running because of Oroville’s emergency status. And because Kiewit is, well, Kiewit. “There were a lot of things that were unique for Oroville,” says Whelan, who was on-site April 24. “Due to the emergency nature of the job, the governor gave us an emergency variance to bypass some of the permitting. We secured all the permits eventually, but we didn’t have to wait for them before getting started. That’s why we could mobilize and get the pads poured for our fuel farm, our shop, and the wash bay in three weeks. They pull out all the stops when life is on the line and personal property is endangered.”
  1 Stats provided by Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) archivist, Tom Berry.
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