LAC LA BICHE - A super heavy, slow moving load that began travelling from Edmonton on Dec. 10 will be moving through the Grassland area before going northbound into Highway 63 and eastbound on Highway 55 today, as it makes its way to Fort McMurray.
The load, which takes up all lanes of the highway, is expected to arrive in Fort McMurray on Friday.
According to information from the government of Alberta, this wide load is 8.7 metres wide, 10.2 metres high, 47 metres long, weigh 490,000 kilograms and will be carried by 352 wheels. It will only be travelling 60 km/h and will be escorted by four vehicles to close intersections to facilitate the move.
At times, the load will also have a police escort to control traffic.
While motorists travelling on those highways should expect a slower trip as the load makes its way north, Lac La Biche RCMP are not anticipating a significant increase in traffic being rerouted through the community.
Sgt. Trevor Cardinal of the Lac La Biche RCMP said even if some traffic makes its way through the area to go up Highway 881 as an alternate route, police are not expecting a lot of extra traffic.
“It might be maybe 40 extra cars going through town,” he told Lakeland This Week. “I can speak from experience and say that any time that there’s a slower delay on any of those highways, that people do tend to come through the Lac La Biche community to go up Hwy 881.”
