10°c Light rain
17°c Variable cloudiness
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Taking it slow
Moving the largest single piece of equipment ever on Manitoba roads is not a job to take lightly
A cyclist is forced to wait for Manitoba Hydro's 320-tire unit to pass while it moves a transformer down Pembina Highway Sunday. (JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ) Photo Store
It takes 14 minutes to drive from Fort Garry east to Manitoba Hydro’s Riel Station just past the Perimeter Highway off Highway 207.
It will take three whole nights to transport a new 175-tonne transformer that distance.
The operation began Sunday night for the largest single piece of equipment ever moved over Manitoba roads.
The circuitous route is "to ensure we pass over the strongest bridges," explained Mason Tucker, special project manager with Equipment Express of Ayr, Ont., which performs 40 to 50 such moves each year. The route is 144 kilometres long.
The transformer is one of three being installed at the Riel Station to enhance the reliability of Manitoba Hydro’s 500,000-volt line linking the province’s grid to Minnesota. The line handles the bulk of the utility’s exports and imports.
The move won’t be getting any speeding tickets. The trailer will travel an average speed of five kilometres per hour on this trip, Tucker said.
The trailer is double the width of a regular vehicle, and will span two road lanes. So it will tie up traffic and require traffic to be rerouted. When possible, it will try to pull over onto the shoulder to allow backed-up traffic to pass. That’s why it’s travelling through the night.
The first leg travelled down McGillivray Boulevard starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, and headed down Highway 3 before stopping at Brunkild at about 6 a.m. today.
The transformer looks like a giant BFI bin. It’s seven metres high by four metres wide. However, when fully assembled at the site with bushings, insulators, cooling units and other attachments, it will stand 12 metres tall and measure 9.6 metres across.
The trailer is another story. It’s a self-propelled modular trailer, similar to one used to transport the space shuttle Endeavour. You could call it a 320-wheeler, because that’s how many inflatable tires the weight of its haul is distributed over.
In fact, it’s all 33 metres of flatbed trailer except for a tiny, one-seater Plexiglas cab in front. You don’t actually drive it from the cab except around curves. For straightaways, the driver walks alongside and operates the thing by remote control.
It can haul up to 1,200 tonnes. It could actually carry all three transformers in one shot that Manitoba Hydro is moving to Riel. But if it did, the Manitoba government would need to rebuild some bridges. Manitoba bridges aren’t built to withstand that much weight, said Tucker.
In the past, Manitoba Hydro has used a specialized rail car to move transformers, but CN Rail modified one of its bridges on the route and the transformer can no longer fit underneath, said Hydro spokesman Denis Wittevrongel.
Getting the transformer onto the trailer required a series of jacks and beams beneath the transformer to get it onto a rail system. From the rail system, it slid down onto the trailer, Wittevrongel said.
While only one person is needed to operate the trailer, it will have an entourage of about 30 people, including five police cruisers.
Rolling road closures will accompany the trailer, so drivers may want to avoid the trailer’s route. The second leg today leaves Brunkild at 8 p.m. and heads down Highway 305 to Ste. Agathe, and then north along Highway 75 before stopping at 6 a.m.
The third leg will travel north on Highway 75, taking Highway 210 east to Highway 59 to the Perimeter, the Perimeter to the Trans-Canada and north on Highway 207.
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
Massive tornado roars through Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 51
2:40 AM
0
View Related
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Harper expected to speak to Tory caucus Tuesday in wake of Senate scandal
- Massive tornado roars through Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 51
- Male facing charges after gun fired in Exchange District
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of rock group The Doors, dies at 74 from cancer
- A gay kiss for Archie Comics' Kevin Keller is also a poke at real life controversy
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- Skin picking gets status as distinct disorder, should help sufferers access help
- Tornado leads CBS to pull season-ending episode of 'Mike & Molly'
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Flood victim gets six years for shotgun threat, attack
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Skin picking gets status as distinct disorder, should help sufferers access help
- Media multi-taskers are 'deluded'
- Nearly 10 years after devolution, Southern Authority hasn’t created its own standards
- Order of Manitoba recipients announced
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- The rail riders' riot
- The end of the credit card?
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Twins drop fifth straight, fall 4 games under .500 with 5-1 loss to Red Sox
- Thousands of military sex abuse victims seek disability, health care after leaving service
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Microsoft update to address Windows 8 complaints, confusion will be free; to be called 8.1
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Uganda: Blessed are the children
- New website profiles neighbourhoods of Winnipeg
- Province removing red tape in alcohol sales
- Animals are animals, new ads say
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- Paul McCartney to play Winnipeg Aug. 12
- Ontario steps in to help save ELA
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Retail sales in province see 2 per cent increase in February
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.