Massive load heading to Fort McMurray Nov 1-6
FORT McMURRAY — Drivers travelling on Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray may face delays beginning early Thursday as a massive industrial load continues its journey from Edmonton to the oilsands.
The oversized transport, carrying a de-methanizer pressure vessel used in natural gas processing, is scheduled to leave a staging area 35 kilometres south of Fort McMurray at 12:15 a.m. on Nov. 7. It will move through the community using highway ramps to avoid overpasses before parking at the north commercial vehicle inspection station about 12 kilometres north of the city later in the morning.
The load is expected to resume travel just after midnight on Nov. 8, using Highway 63 in counterflow before turning onto Voyageur Road and Aostra Road and heading west and south to its final site.
The pressure vessel is 104 metres long, 6.5 metres wide and nearly eight metres high. Including support equipment, it weighs more than 529,000 kilograms and is carried by trailers with 352 wheels.
The load moves at a maximum speed of 50 kilometres an hour and uses the entire width of the highway, including the shoulder. At times, it will travel against traffic with escort vehicles blocking lanes.
The transport began Nov. 2 in south Edmonton and has travelled through Highways 14, 36, 45, 28 and 63, stopping at staging areas in Two Hills, Radway and the May Tower South rest area.
Motorists are advised to expect delays, follow pilot vehicles and obey traffic controllers. Road updates are available through Alberta’s 511 service online, by phone or on the mobile app.
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