'Megaload' Expected to Come Through town Sunday

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Massive oil refinery equipment, known as a ‘megaload,’ will travel through Umatilla and Hermiston Sunday on its way to Canada.

OregonLive reported Friday that Oregon officials expect the massive load to hit the road Sunday night. The rig and convoy will travel only at night to avoid holding up traffic.

The 96-foot-long, 330,000-pound water purification vessel is being barged from Portland, where it was made, to Umatilla, where it will be transferred to a giant trailer, according to OregonLive. The convoy will head to Hermiston, then Pendleton and on to Mt. Vernon, passing through John Day and Prairie City to Ontario and into Idaho before winding up at Canada’s oil-mining region north of Alberta.

The Oregon Transportation Department will provide updates on its tripcheck website, said Tom Strandberg, an ODOT spokesman. He said the rig would pull off highways at intervals to allow vehicles to pass.

To read the full story and see photos of the ‘megaload,’ visit the OregonLive website.