Huge tractor-trailer to move across Virginia
Published: July 10, 2009
VDOT: 3 OVERSIZED LOADS TO TRAVEL THROUGH VIRGINIA THIS MONTH
An extraordinarily large tractor-trailer will be making three circuitous trips across the state between Newport News and Martinsville beginning Monday, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.
The movements may delay motorists traveling near the oversized transport, VDOT warned.
The oversized tractor-trailer carrying forging press equipment will travel along designated routes between 6:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. and, if necessary, move to pre-determined stops along the route.
Each trip is expected to take two to three days, depending on weather and other conditions, VDOT said.
The movements will take place:
- Monday through Wednesday
- Tuesday through Thursday
- July 21 through July 23.
Miller Transfer will be carrying three parts of a forging press, used to make titanium products, from the Newport News Marine Terminal to RTI International Metals in Martinsville.
The transporter is 225 feet long -- three and a half times longer than a normal tractor trailer -- and 16 feet 5 inches wide. It has a gross weight up to 551,000 pounds.
Information about the transport operation will be posted on Virginia's 511 travel information system, which is available by dialing 511 on any telephone in Virginia and on the 511 Web site: http://www.511Virginia.org.
The state Department of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and Miller Transfer developed the route to reduce inconvenience on other drivers, local businesses and residents, VDOT said.
The state highway agency will place variable message signs along the route to advise drivers of potential traffic delays. VDOT maintenance vehicles, as well as state and local law enforcement, will accompany the transport vehicle to provide traffic control.
Reader Reactions
J-Reb,
I’ll take responsibility for using the wrong syntax in my post. Here is the NHSTA report verbatim: “The number of traffic fatalities in 2008 reached its lowest level since 1961. There was a 9.7-percent decline in the number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes in the United States, from 41,259 in 2007 to 37,261 according to NHTSA’s 2008 Fatality Analysis Reporting System…“ It further adds that of the 4,229 people killed in truck accidents, 3,139 were in the other vehicle.
As for what NHTSA classifies as a truck accident, and what you classify it as, I can’t help you there.
Here’s a copy of the report to show that the 20,000 figure appears to be grossly over-estimated: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811172.pdf
Here’s a hint, Observer: You’re counting the number of *accidents* and I’m counting the number of *fatalities* ... meanwhile you’re also qualifying what constitutes “large trucks” which I am not.
J-Reb,
What is the source of your information? According to NHTSA, there were a total of 37,261 fatal traffic accidents in 2008. Of those, only 4,229 involved large trucks, well below the 20,000 you state. In fact, this is a 12% decline in fatal large-truck accidents from 2007.
As for the damage that occurs to the roadways, the Department(s) of Transportation have history in moving large loads, this certainly isn’t the first time that this has been done. Very specialized multi-axle trailers with thier own steering axles in the front, middle, and rear are provided, and the trailers have enough axles to distribute the weight without damage to the roadways.
Both railways and over-the-road trucks will continue to serve a neccessary role in the nations transportation systems.
J-Reb, Great comment, Maybe Richmond could use the money they want for high speed rail to help eliminate tractor-trailers on the highway?
Some good comments here. We all pay for the endless damage to roadways and bridges caused by overweight trucks. To maintain that the trucking companies always pay for the damage they cause is idle at best.
Meanwhile, Meanwhile, nearly *20,000* people are killed on our nation’s highways each and every year due to tractor-trailers and other trucks, drivers asleep at the wheel, jacknifed tractor-trailers, overturned tractor-trailers, tractor-trailers run off the road, tractor-trailers driven by improperly licensed and/or inexperienced immigrants, etc etc. ***That’s like a 9/11 every 60 days.*** Where’s the outrage?
And the carnage isn’t the only cost. Roads and bridges only NEED constant repair because of thousands of 80,000-lb tractor-trailers lumbering over them daily, jackknifing, overturning, killing thousands of people annually and causing endless traffic jams as well as damaged roadways.
Trucking companies, not taxpayers, should have to pay for ALL roadway maintenance. Solution? Intercity freight should be moved by rail. Vastly cleaner, vastly safer, vastly cheaper.
“A train can haul a ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel, about a 3-to-1 fuel efficiency advantage over 18-wheelers.“
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/20/AR2008042002407.html
[One standard railcar can carry up to 100 tons of densely packed freight. It would take four standard 18-wheelers to carry the same amount.]
Too heavy and too wide for rail? I don’t suppose you’ve heard of a Schnabel car?
Feel free to look it up. There’s a picture on the web of a load being carried on a rail Schnabel car that’s in excess of 16 feet wide, with the load alone weighing more than the combined weight of this truck and load.
That particular load was being carried on a car with an 880 ton capacity (1,760,000 pounds). A smaller car should suffice for this load.
As far as trains only being able to travel on one set of tracks and the width being an issue on double-tracked lines, well, that’s one of the reasons that there are sidings and passing tracks.
Zulu, I again read the article. Not all road damage shows up instantly. Will VDOT come back in a couple of months or maybe after the first big freeze and wonder why the roadways are cracking up? I am sure they have the proper permits for this move but it does not make it any less damaging.Nice try though.
Would it be possible for any of you to give VDOT some credit? If this transport company tears up the roads, VDOT will make them pay! According to VDOT’s press release, the police and VDOT will be traveling with this truck the whole way. If it gets hung up someplace or damages property, the company will be held responsible. We should be glad this company is even coordinating with VDOT. If they didn’t, it’s likely we wouldn’t even know about this truck coming through here until we heard about the traffic backups on the radio.
There’s no chance this load could go by rail because it’s so heavy and wide. Once again, read the article and the news release before you post nonsense! It’s also traveling overnight, so it’s less likely to cause traffic problems unless it gets stuck someplace.
For those who complained about the unusual route this truck is taking…again, read before you post!!! It’s avoiding any bridges that it might not be able to go under. Would you rather it take a more direct route and hit a few bridges along the way? Oh yeah, maybe you would. That way you could blame it on VDOT.
It should be easy to tell which route it takes, just look for the cracked up pavement. Won’t cost more than a few million to have the roads repaired afterwords.VDOT must have plenty of money!
ramgrl, it looks to me like the first move is this Monday, July 13th. There are 3 moves in all. The 3rd move is July 21-23.
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