One special driver will haul an enormous load on a 400 mile route across Pennsylvania for the next two weeks, and trucking experts say it’s going to be quite a feat.
The 213 foot long, 294 ton load is a tank from a decommissioned nuclear training site and is longer than five fire trucks and as heavy as two entire blue whales, The New York Times reports.
The load will take up two lanes of traffic and can only travel at a maximum speed of 30 mph. The journey is expected to take nine days, but will be conducted mostly at night to cut down on traffic jams caused by its enormous size.
Tonight, a 213-foot-long, 294-ton #SuperLoad starts its over 400-mile trek from West Milton, New York, to Wampum, Pennsylvania. Drivers along the planned route should remain alert for this two-lane operation.
— PA Department of Transportation (@PennDOTNews) January 12, 2022
More info ➡️ https://t.co/wbyiNhFuhh
Follow along with #PASuperLoad22 pic.twitter.com/Yg0MLDMAyk
“This is phenomenal,” said Lew Grill, a trucking school instructor in Montana. “If this guy pulls this off professionally, he should get accolades. We should bow to him. There are not many drivers like this.”
Although it is empty, the giant tank is still radioactive due to its previous proximity to the D1G Prototype reactor used to train Navy sailors on propulsion systems in West Milton, New York.
The load is expected to reach its destination of Wampum, Pennsylvania on January 21st, where it will be disassembled and recycled or discarded.