http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MEGALOADS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-04-12-52-19 HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- An Exxon Mobil subsidiary is changing tack after months of being snarled in a legal dispute over plans to haul oversized refinery equipment along scenic two-lane highways in Montana and Idaho.
Imperial Oil has applied to the Montana Department of Transportation for permits to transport the loads to the oil sands in Canada via interstates 90 and 15.
MDOT attorney Dave Ohler says Imperial hasn't withdrawn its application to ship the loads along U.S. Highway 12 and Montana 200. But he says using that disputed route would not be necessary if the company uses the wider interstates.
Imperial spokesman Pius Rolheiser says the company is now prepared to haul all of the modules along the interstate route, but it still views U.S. 12 as a viable corridor.