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Photo: TOM BAUER/Missoulian. A megaload travels east on Interstate 90 near Drummond on Monday. Trucks hauling the equipment bound for the oil sands of northern Alberta are becoming more common on the freeway as the state is allowing more than one a day to move. |
Although Imperial Oil received the go ahead back in October to apply for permits to haul their ‘mega loads’ up the two lane Highways 12 and 200, they appear to be shying away from doing so. Instead, they have applied for, and been granted, permits to haul broken-down versions of the equipment (to fit under interstate bridges) along Interstates 90 and 15.
Their original plans were to truck gigantic loads (hence “megaload”) up the scenic, narrow Clearwater and Lochsa River canyons into Montana and from there a controversial route through Missoula and into Canada for use at the Kearl oil sands project.
They met very stiff opposition to their plans from locals in Idaho and Montana, especially from All Against the Haul and Fighting Goliath.
Imperial originally stated that the equipment could not be cut down in size for transport, but that’s exactly what they are now doing. An Imperial spokesman referred to it as ‘slicing and dicing’. In fact, instructions have now been given to the production plants in South Korea to build the equipment in smaller segments right from the get go.
Calgary Herald
Nov 08 , 2011
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