Cleveland, Ohio Local News
Two more Intel-related superl oads to traverse Ohio this week
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two more Intel-related super loads are traveling from Adams County to Licking County this week, but they will be much smaller than the massive loads we saw this summer headed to the $20 billion chip manufacturing site.
The first of these super loads, coming in at 258,000 pounds and more than 16 feet tall, leaves Friday. The second, which weighs 132,000 pounds and is more than 17 feet tall, leaves on Saturday.
ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning said recent super loads and those still ahead are “dramatically smaller” than those moved this summer. The traffic impacts, he said, have been almost nothing.
“There will be many more from here through next year… but we are not anticipating any other huge loads like we saw this summer,” he said. “There may be a couple more that will be a little more impactful to traffic. We’ll certainly do what we did with the others and put out an advance notice of that.”
You can see the exact route details of loads 25 and 26 here.
(Courtesy JobsOhio)
As far as cost, Bruning said the transport of these materials is not a cost incurred by ODOT. The hauler purchases the permit, he said, and then Intel pays them to bring the equipment in.
He said the only cost for taxpayers is if they use an ODOT escort vehicle, they pay that employee. But it’s not really an additional cost, as that employee would be being paid regardless, just for another task, without the super load.
He said even if the load has a state trooper escort, that’s paid by the haulers.
A massive truck is hauling Intel equipment for its construction project across Ohio. (Photo Courtesy Ohio Department of Transportation)
When it comes to the logistical challenges of plotting the routes for these super loads, especially the 900,000 pound plus ones earlier this summer, height, weight, width and traffic are the key factors.
They had to make sure bridges could support the weight, that roads were wide enough to accommodate large loads, that they timed around traffic-heavy events and avoided routes which would take them under too-short bridges, Bruning said.
Those challenges even led to some minor, yet permanent, changes some eagle-eyed drivers may notice.
There were a few overhead signs in Chillicothe and Portsmouth that were permanently raised. While ODOT paid for those, he said those changes are beneficial moving forward, not just for Intel but for others wanting to move massive loads who now have a higher height clearance on that route.
“So that’s an advantage, certainly, to Ohio’s economy,” Bruning said.
A massive truck is hauling Intel equipment for its construction project across Ohio. (Photo Courtesy Ohio Department of Transportation)
They also installed swivel arms to some traffic signals in Piketon and Pickerington, paid for by the haulers. This allows the signal to just pivot, rather than needing to be raised. Bruning said it made the operation much easier and quicker.
It’s something they can benefit from in the future, if anyone else decides they need to move large items through this portion of the state.
Bruning said other companies have approached them asking if they can help them move large materials as well.
“It has definitely positioned Ohio, economically, in a good spot that other companies are looking to move here because they realize that Ohio can make and move things,” he said.
Spectrum News 1 anchor and reporter Taylor Bruck contributed to this report.
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Cody Thompson
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