[Vision2020] Megaloads might roll through Moscow in January

[Paul Rumelhart]

Right on!  How dare a private company transport their own equipment 
through our town on public roads when there are people here who don't 
like it!

Paul

On 12/18/2013 05:03 AM, Moscow Cares wrote:
> *EFF 'EM ! ! !*
>
> Courtesy of today's (December 18, 2013) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
>
> ----------------------------------
>
>
>   Megaloads might roll through Moscow in January
>
> Trucks, loads to be 472 feet long and weigh 800 tons
>
> The Idaho Transportation Department might allow three megaload 
> deliveries of oil field equipment to travel through Moscow en route to 
> Missoula, Mont., and eventually the Alberta, Canada, tar sands.
>
> One vehicle and its equipment load would weigh 1.6 million pounds 
> total and be 472 feet long, 27 feet wide and 16 feet high, according 
> to a press release sent out by the ITD.
>
> State officials aren't "being fully transparent" about the route or 
> when the cargo is expected to reach certain areas because they want to 
> avoid controversy, said Helen Yost, an organizer with Wild Idaho 
> Rising Tide, a group based in Moscow.
>
> About a dozen protesters came out to show their displeasure when four 
> smaller megaloads came through Moscow in mid-October, for example.
>
> "And we're definitely going to protest this time," Yost said about the 
> planned January deliveries.
>
> Moscow city officials found out about the plan Tuesday to route the 
> vehicle along Washington Street as part of its U.S. Highway 95 leg of 
> the trip. Specifically, the route would move north on U.S. 95 from 
> Lewiston - during which time it would come through Moscow - then move 
> on to Interstate 90 at Coeur d'Alene.
>
> The interstate isn't built for such a load to enter certain spots, so 
> temporary ramps are being constructed.
>
> Traffic control also would affect residents in Coeur d'Alene. The haul 
> would be required to make frequent stops to accommodate other drivers 
> throughout the trip.
>
> Oversize hauls move very slowly, and this one might even only travel a 
> few miles an hour, said Bill Belknap, the Moscow's development director.
>
> The cargo would exceed the length of some shorter city blocks in 
> Moscow, and it's at least double the size of others that have traveled 
> through the community in the past, thus "substantially larger," said 
> Les McDonald, the city's public works director.
>
> He noted before a permit is issued for the oversized load to move 
> through Idaho, state officials will determine what the hauler, Mammoet 
> USA South, needs to ensure the massive cargos aren't putting too much 
> weight on roads and freeways.
>
> Requiring a large number of wheels and axles to support the cargo 
> allows for the weight to be better distributed and less stressful on 
> roads, he and ITD spokesman Adam Rush explained.
>
> Washington Street is state-controlled, but some of the infrastructure 
> that lies underneath - specifically water, wastewater and stormwater 
> pipes and related hardware - is owned by the city.
>
> There will be a public meeting 4-7 p.m. Thursday at the ITD District 1 
> office in Coeur d'Alene. Focus of this event is on the portion of the 
> route that includes creating a temporary on-ramp that would allow 
> enough space for the huge shipment to reach Interstate 90, however.
>
> The cargo hauling is expected to occur only between the hours of 10 
> p.m. and 5 a.m., so it wouldn't affect as many drivers as it would 
> during more common travel times, Rush emphasized.
>
> Much smaller loads were set to travel along scenic U.S. Highway 12 in 
> Idaho this past summer. These plans were stopped after only one truck 
> made the trip because of a lawsuit filed in federal court in Boise by 
> the group Idaho Rivers United and the Nez Perce Tribe.
>
> The first of three loads planned by hauler Omega Morgan for a division 
> of General Electric is slowly traveling across Oregon toward southern 
> Idaho. Protesters and bad weather have caused delays. The Associated 
> Press reported that 16 protesters were arrested late Monday in John 
> Day, Ore., after chaining themselves to a car and trailer to slow the 
> Alberta-bound cargo down.
>
> ----------------------------------
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "There's room at the top they are telling you still
> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
> If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
>
> - John Lennon
>
>
>
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