Big rig test module hits wire, cuts power to 1,300 homes, businesses off Highway 12

[Newsjock]

Source: Missoulian

The big blue megaload that a Canadian oil company says will validate its plan to send many more up U.S. Highway 12 in Idaho and Montana got off to a rough start.

The 30-foot-high load hit a guy wire near Orofino, Idaho, early Tuesday, setting off a sequence of events that led to power outages in some 1,300 area homes and businesses for almost five hours, and causing the highway to be closed for an hour.

It happened around 1:45 a.m., a few hours after the big rig struck and broke off a giant tree branch near the Lewiston Rose Garden as it left town. The branch was 10 inches in diameter and 20 feet long. No traffic delays resulted.

Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil's practice load finished the night parked 13 miles short of its designated stopover near Kooskia. It appeared the plan to make the 182-mile trip to Lolo Hot Springs in Montana by Thursday morning was off.

Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_4ba1f8a4-654c-11e0-82d1-001cc4c002e0.html

[sarcasmo]

1. Breaker 1------9 this is rubber ducky, zap, buzz, zap.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. This appears to be a pic of the "safety module", from Imperial Oil website

It should also be noted that that road is a narrow twisting 2 lane.
It should nicely slow most traffic down to a crawl.
Anyone who has ever driven narrow twisty 2 lane mountain roads knows the impact of a 30 foot tall mega load like that.



The website says:
"We regret any inconvenience to the public."