Oil companies start driving 24-axle, 96-wheel loads across Idaho and Montana this week

[Newsjock]

Source: Missoulian

... On Tuesday night, ConocoPhillips and its moving company, Emmert International of Clackamas, Ore., will start moving the first of four megaloads of coke drums bound for Billings from the Port of Lewiston in Idaho.

... Maybe you've seen photos of the things. A lot of people have snapped pictures as the Conoco coke drums sat, big as day, in a storage lot at the Port of Lewiston. Some, but not many, have captured the immensity of the reddish, barrel-shaped halves of coke drums fabricated in Japan that Conoco will use in a $50 million upgrade of its Billings refinery.

Counting the specially made transporters they'll ride in, they're 29 feet wide, 28 feet high and 226 feet long. Each load weighs approximately 300 tons. To meet state regulations, that weight will be dispersed over 24 axles and 96 wheels.

They're too high to fit under interstate overpasses, so wide they'll hang three feet and more over the fog lines of some highways, so long they'll literally have to be walked around tight turns along the Lochsa River, at the junction of highways 12 and 93 in Lolo, through the side streets of Helena and Billings.

... Opponents organizing on the Montana side also plan nonconfrontational protests, and will do their part to monitor the loads - videotaping, writing and blogging - from Milepost 126 in Idaho through Missoula. Several drove to Lewiston on Saturday to take part in a rally there on the Memorial Bridge.

Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_2e09d034-2c38-11e0-91b8-001cc4c002e0.html

[SoCalDem]

1. Is there a special fund they pay into for road damage?

or will the taxpayers have to pick up the tab?

[OhioChick]

3. My thoughts, exactly n/t

[CC]

7. If the states and counties

did the normal contract the movers would pay for any road/area damage. The movers should of gone in a head of time, looked for any weak spots and reinforced them. Least that is what the company moving this monster from France did. I doubt it ever got faster than 5 miles an hour and that would of been speeding for it.






Hope they remember their WD40.





If you can get somewhere to watch it is interesting. This was 1 of 2 generators heading to Three Mile Island.

[Codeine]

12. All those axles

pretty much assure you won't see any road damage. A widely-distributed load means very little surface stress.

[tularetom]

14. Usually there is a repair bond required to be posted to cover any damages

And since the damages often do not show up until the next winter, the bonds are kept active for an extended period of time. Typically 24 to 36 months.

[cleanhippie]

2. Interesting. Was this just an informational post or was there a bigger point you want to make?

[WillyT]

4. Will It Be One Of These ???

One of these ???



Or one of these ???



:wow:

:scared:

:kick:

[IDemo]

8. Much larger

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. That's a big f-ing thing. n/t

[WillyT]

20. Holy Crap !!!

:wow:

Thanks... I think.

:evilgrin:

:hi:

[underpants]

25. New series on Discovery - AWESOME Truckers

or something like that.

That is amazing.

[RegieRocker]

5. it is the weight of the axles that cause road damage

if the axle weight doesn't exceed 34,000 then no more damage will occur than having many trucks doing the same thing. So unless you know the axle weight don't assume anything. If axle weight does exceed 34000 then it truly is not only a concern for the roads but those traveling on the roads in autos. Unless of course it is oversized loads then the it doesn't matter because that is nothing new and happens all the time.

[kudzu22]

17. 300 tons / 24 axles = 25,000 lbs per axle

Plus some for the weight of the carrier itself, it sounds like they're ok. Hope so.

[IDemo]

6. Through one of the most scenic river routes in America

But no problem if they have an "incident":

[dems_rightnow]

9. What?

They are hauling HUGE empty barrel-like things. I doubt they dump them in a river and leave them there.

[IDemo]

13. The trucks are far from empty

http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2010/09/30/big-fuel-spill-from-rig-on-us-12

This is one of the wildest stretches of river anywhere in the country, and it has already been subjected to environmental abuses. It is also next to a very winding Highway 12 which was never intended to bear this kind of weight.

[dems_rightnow]

15. Great find

Yes, the hauling rigs have fuel in their tanks.

[neverforget]

10. Best do it now too because Summer is road construction season in Montana.

Every summer, my family and I drive from Portland to Billings (~14hrs) and the road between Lolo Pass and Missoula is ALWAYS under construction.

[fascisthunter]

11. they use tax funded roads more than we do, yet they get tax breaks

[Xithras]

18. Learn something new every day...

I had no idea there was a seaport in Idaho. Didn't realize that the Columbia was navigable that far upstream.

I'm curious as to the reasons for the protests though. Are people protesting this because it's related to oil sands extraction in general, or do people have a beef with this equipment move in particular?

[IDemo]

19. Both

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10451550

Jim Hepburn, who founded the Lochsa River Conservancy this year, has been collecting signatures in hopes of halting the shipments. He is concerned about the potential impact on a protected river corridor and its population of endangered salmon, steelhead and trout.

"Our biggest concern isn't the present process but the precedents it will set for future projects," said Hepburn, who also works as a fishing guide along the river.

Northern Rockies Rising Tide, a coalition of environmental groups in Missoula, is also protesting the project because it believes developing the oil sands will contribute to climate change.

The Middle Fork Clearwater includes the Lochsa and Selway Rivers, premier whitewater rivers. Part of the exploration route of Lewis and Clark follows the Lochsa River. Most of the Selway lies in Idaho's Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. These rivers offer clear, clean water, beautiful scenery with great plant diversity, and abundant wildlife.

[kudzu22]

21. I never see anyone protesting the transport of giant wind turbines

so I'm going to guess it's because of the oil.

[jmowreader]

27. It's thanks to the Great Socialist Democratic Party that it is

When the Bonneville Power Project (started in 1937 under FDR) dammed the Snake and Columbia Rivers for hydropower, they made sure to put locks in at every dam. In 1958, when the Democrats still ran this state, the voters in Nez Perce County approved a bond to build the Port of Lewiston. Now, if you are a farmer or a lumber mill in Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon or Idaho who wants to get into international trade, you can ship containers of any size without the expense of hauling them by road to Seattle.

It is the world's highest ocean port and a continual source of amazement to people who don't live here: "You have a SEAPORT?"

[ROFF]

22. Moving heavy loads in winter is easier

because the ground is frozen. Also, the depth to which the ground can freeze can double under heavily travelled roads. Where I live ( central Saskatchewan ), the ground typically freezes to six feet but eleven feet under roads.

That has the effect of spreading the load.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. pic. Holy moly

[Major Hogwash]

24. Jesus, I knew they were big, but that's ridiculous. They ought to impeach the judge that allowed it.

What a bunch of douchebags! Total fucking douchebags.

[Ikonoklast]

26. What are you going on about?

Stuff like this happens all the time...you need to get out more.

[Major Hogwash]

28. No, not here.

Maybe where you live this sort of thing goes on all the time, but not here.
Not in real life.

[alphafemale]

29. It has to go where it has to go...somehow.

I wish them the best.