Falkirk to construct home on the prairie for ‘monster’ trucks
By Brenda L. Shelkey
A ship pulls into home port at the end of a cruise. An airplane has its own hangar. Cars take shelter in their own garage. But the large "monster" earth-moving trucks operated by Falkirk Mine have no place to go when they are off duty or are in need of repair. The problem is being remedied. Falkirk mining engineer, Mike Briggs, construction manager Dave Kaufman, and land agent Doug Stoltz had a hand in explaining the need and enormity of the construction project. Groundbreaking began April 16 for construction of two buildings southeast of Underwood just south of ND Highway 200 between Underwood and Turtle Lake. Kaufman explained that the first building to go up will be the 24 foot by 60 foot shift change building which is meant to accommodate up to 30 employees during the shift change, 15 individuals per shift, for the overburden removal crew at the Falkirk Mine. Currently the shift change building uses a mobile office, but the employees have to travel to the Falkirk Mine facility grounds to check in before going to the site. The new facility will be located south of the current mobile shift change building where the equipment will allow the employees to check in without having to backtrack to the Falkirk facility first. The new shift change building will have restroom accommodations, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a lunch room with a microwave, refrigerator, and toaster oven, vending machines and a meeting area. Kaufman is expecting completion of the building around the beginning of June.
