By Justin Dionne

Heaviest piece of hardware to travel Alberta highways expected to reach destination today

Jan 9, 2019 | 9:27 AM

A company with ties to Grande Prairie is working on moving the heaviest load to travel on Alberta’s highways.

Mammoet is bringing a large piece of hardware from Edmonton to the Industrial Heartland near Fort Saskatchewan.

The company says planning the move has been in the works since 2013 and has been a logistical challenge since. 

Mammoet’s Operations Manager for the Peace River region Hugh Yake says lots of highly detailed engineering went into the moving plans to make sure the load reached its destination safely.

“Considerations to be looked at are things like traffic lights or street lamps that need to be removed or turned, railway crossing can be an issue, bridges and culvert structures that might need to be reinforced along the way,” says Yake.”Of course, the size of the load itself is the big determining factor in what route to take, and how long it’ll take.”

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The planning involved multiple levels of government and utility provider engagement, as well as several months of preparation to have the equipment ready for transport. 

Yake notes the equipment is going to be used in Alberta’s first polypropylene plant.

“The vessel itself is a splitter. It takes petrochemical products and it splits it into different products for different uses. Everything from a plastic watch strap, to the car dash in your new Caddilac, to the boot laces in your kids’ running shoes,” says Yake.

Information released by the Alberta Government says the splitter weighs 820 tonnes, is 96 metres long and weighs more than Caterpillar’s largest mining truck which is six times as large. The load also takes up the entire width of a two-lane highway, including the shoulder. 

Yake explains there will be similar moves like this in the future, but with smaller vessels.

“This particular project will actually have several more. They’re not quite as big, but once you go over a certain size, once you go over a couple of hundred tonnes of weight, the requirements to move each load are very similar.”

The load began its journey on Sunday and is expected to reach its destination today.

Mammoet has a number of locations in over 50 countries including one on the north end of Grande Prairie.