UPDATE: Megaload now near Cat Creek Summit; ISP offers tracking help

Monday, January 6, 2014
The second megaload is expected to pass through Mountain Home's Exit 95 on it's way north on Highway 20 on Tuesday night, Jan. 7.

The next megaload is currently in Elmore County above Cat Creek Summit.

The roughly two-lane 450-ton oversized load of evaporators for a tar sands operations in Canada is expected to follow roughly the same route the first megaload took during the first trip through the area last week.

The second shipment of the three shipments that will be sent to Canada traveled last night from the junction of State Highways 78 and 51 west of Hammett to US Highway 20 at milepost 126 near Cat Creek Summit east of Mountain Home.

All movement takes place between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The load is preceded by flagging vehicles and traffic may be delayed in some areas for up to 15 minutes.

One of the three megaloads already has passed through the area. The exact timing of the third one has not been announced.

The Idaho State Police Regional Communications Center that covers southern Idaho, as well as county dispatch centers, have been inundated with calls from the public and the media with questions about the location the Omega Morgan or "Megaload" equipment shipment.

In an effort to keep the public better informed as to where the shipments are parked during the daylight hours, ISP will post the information every morning on its Twitter account at @IdahoStPolice.

The easy access to the information is being provided with the hope that the public will get the information that they desire to view the shipments, while keeping ISP and county sheriff dispatch phone lines open for emergency communications.

The Idaho Transportation Department issued permits to Omega Morgan, the shipping company, for two shipments of equipment that have traveled along southern and eastern Idaho highways over the past two weeks. The permit for the third shipment has yet to be issued.

The shipments are permitted to travel during the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with weather and road conditions permitting.

Information will NOT be updated as the shipment is in progress, ISP said, nor when the shipment will begin movement or how far the shipment is expected to travel each night. That information is constantly changing as the shipment moves and there are too many factors continuously at play to report the information accurately.

When stopped the shipments are pulled completely off of the roadway. The safety of the public is the top priority of law enforcement at those locations.

The public is reminded to obey all traffic laws and to use common sense when stopping to view or photograph trucks, ISP officials said. "This includes onlookers staying off of the highway while on foot, pulling completely off of the roadway to photo the equipment from a vehicle and using extreme caution when leaving or reentering the highway. Please use a vehicle turnout when turning around and do not make a u-turn on a highway."

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