The Oregon Department of Transportation says motorists should expect nighttime delays of up to 20 minutes on Oregon Highway 86 (Baker-Copperfield Highway) starting 10 p.m. Wednesday evening, Sept. 15 and ending before 5 a.m. Sept. 16.
The travel impacts are required to accommodate a 16-foot-wide, 185-foot-long and 421,726-pound load of transformer equipment.
The shipment will travel between 25 and 50 miles per hour through Baker County, primarily on OR 86. Motorists need to watch for pilot cars, flaggers, traffic control crews and to plan extra travel time during this nighttime operation.
To evenly distribute the extreme weight of the shipment it may move down the center of the roadway at times, depending on road width, taking up both travel lanes. Traffic will be stopped at regular intervals with pilot cars informing the movers when to pull over to allow oncoming vehicles and backed up traffic to pass.
The oversize load will begin its journey at the west end of Baker City and travel through town before connecting to the Baker-Copperfield Highway (OR 86) and heading east through Richland to the Idaho border. The equipment will leave Oregon at Copperfield.
The travel dates and time may change depending on weather and other unforeseen conditions. Update information will be released through the media if there are changes in the move schedule. Alerts will also be posted on TripCheck.com during the move and commuters are reminded to check the website before heading out.
ODOT officials say the freight contains no hazardous materials, fuels or liquids
