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Third megaload shipment to pass through county
The third megaload shipment by the Omega Morgan transportation company will pass through Elmore County early this week.
The company is using the same route and schedule as the previous loads, which should put them passing through Mountain Home either Tuesday or Wednesday night.
The shipments entered Idaho Saturday night/Sunday morning. In the past, they stopped in the Muphy/Homedale area, then proceeded to the Grand View/Indian Cove stetch, and from there through Hammett to Mountain Home by way of I-84 and then up Highway 20, eventually heading to Arco and the Montana border. The ultimate destination of the load's distillation tanks is the tar sand oil fields near Alberta, Canada.
The shipments are only authorized to move at night. Motorists are advised to expect delays on the highways during the transport of the megaload, the Idaho Transportation Department warned.
ITD issued a permit Friday to Omega Morgan to move a shipment 23 feet wide; 18 feet, 11 inches high; 382 feet long and weighing 794,001 pounds. The permit allows travel between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The load will not travel if visibility is less than 500 feet.
Traffic delays should be expected on eastbound Interstate 84 between exits 99 and 112 (Hammett).
A temporary closure of the eastbound I-84 off-ramp at exit 112 will be necessary.
The equipment shipment will use the eastbound off-ramp to pull onto eastbound I-84, then use the eastbound lanes to travel westbound on I-84 for one-quarter mile.
Pilot vehicles on I-84 will temporarily delay other eastbound vehicles while the shipment uses eastbound I-84.
At an emergency vehicle pull-out, the load will cross over to the westbound lanes and move toward Mountain Home.
As much as possible, delays to other vehicles will be limited to 15 minutes. Flaggers and pilot vehicles will accompany the transport vehicle and notify its driver when other vehicles are approaching. The shipment will then move to the nearest available pull-out, drive to the side of the highway and let other vehicles pass.
When it is not traveling, the load will be pulled off the highway.