PADUCAH, Ky. (Feb. 17, 2020) — A slow-moving superload that covered about 50 miles through parts of 4 counties on Friday remains parked at the Seven Springs Farms headquarters along KY 276/Blackhawk Road in Trigg County. The crew now anticipates resuming travel sometime Wednesday.
The 195 ft. long truck with a 19-axle trailer is escorted by about a dozen support vehicles. It is hauling an over-dimensional, almost 200-ton load from near Cincinnati, OH, to Aberdeen, Mississippi. Due to the 17 ft. – 6 inch height of the load, the truck has to move along mostly rural routes to avoid highway and interstate overpasses that normally have a 15 ft. – 6 inch clearance.
The hauler, Miller Transfer & Rigging, says the specialized hauler requires regular maintenance to assure hydraulic controls that steer the rear unit of the trailer are working properly. The support crew also requires time to fully scope out potential navigation issues the superload will encounter on the planned route ahead, making it likely the load will not be back on the road until sometime during the day Wednesday.
The multi-axle truck normally averages about 5 to 10 miles per hour on the road. Due to the width and height of the load, the effort required by support crews to help the superload maneuver creates significant traffic delays, particularly going through cities where utility lines and traffic signals may have to be raised to allow it to pass. Motorists who encounter the load on the road are advised to use caution and follow directions of the escort crew and police.
The specialized hauler took about 4 hours to move 50 miles with the oversized chemical storage tank on Friday.
The load has a permit to move from Seven Springs Farms southward along KY 276 near the Wallonia community to U.S. 68, then travel west on U.S. 68 to Cadiz where it will take KY 139/South Road into Tennessee.
The crew has been on the road for about 12 days. They expect to take another 7 or 8 days on the road to reach their destination in Mississippi.
The crew will provide the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet timely notice when the superload is ready to resume travel on Wednesday.
Video and photos of the superload traveling through Marion, KY, on Friday can be found at www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.
Motorists may also detect the location of the load by looking for traffic delays and possible detour routes on the WAZE App or at WAZE.com, when it resumes travel through Trigg County.