Bozeman News

Monster Trucks

Big Wheels Keep on Turning?

By Amy Linn, 1-12-10

Above photo: A big rig carrying a module. Below: The map of the proposed Montana route. Photos courtesy of Imperial Oil.

Let’s talk big traffic.

Big, as in a truck pulling a 24-foot-high “module” that is 54 yards long, nearly 10 yards high, and weighs 220 tons—the equivalent of about 40 elephants.

Big, as in rigs so tall they won’t fit under highway overpasses; so wide they take up two traffic lanes; and so ponderous, their top speed is 30 mph.

Big, as in the roads they travel would have to be modified so the modules don’t snap overhead power lines and take out traffic lights.

Which leads to a potentially large problem for Montana—or at the very least a big deal. Because the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is considering a proposal that would allow as many as 200 of the jumbo loads to roll down Montana roads and highways—including across Rogers Pass, in winter—during a 12-to-18 month period that could start late this year.

The trucks and trailers would be moving specialized, non-toxic mining equipment from Korea, where it’s made, to the Kearl oil sands project in northeastern Alberta, Canada. The project by operator Imperial Oil and its parent company ExxonMobil Canada aims to produce more than 300,000 barrels of bitumen—extra heavy oil—per day. The first stage, with an output of about 100,000 barrels per day, is slated to start in 2012.

Imperial spokesman Pius Rolheiser said the company has spent about two years looking at the most cost-effective way to get the prefabricated equipment from Korea, and the Montana route is the best option.

Incredulity has followed.

“It sounds pretty goofy to me,” said Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss, who heard about the monster-rig plan when Imperial made a presentation to the county commission six weeks ago. The oil company’s proposal involves one or two trucks per day rumbling through Missoula and down Reserve Street between midnight and 4 a.m. at 5-to-30 mph., potentially creating traffic migraines or worse. Thus, Imperial has given briefings to local officials all along the route.

“They’re having these [module] units made in Korea and shipping them across the ocean,” said Curtiss. “They get to Portland, then go up the Columbia River and up the Snake River to Lewiston, Idaho. Then they get trucked up Lolo Pass, through Missoula, and over Rogers Pass. They swear this is the cheapest way they can do this. But it just blows my mind that they can’t figure out how to build these things in Canada.”

According to Imperial, a majority of modules for the Kearl oil sands site will indeed be made in Canada, but these particular prefabs—filled with things like over-sized piping—are high quality and at the right price, even with the shipping costs.

As to one of Curtiss’ concerns—“Think of what would happen if they hit ice on Rogers Pass?” she asked—Imperial says the trucking will be carried out by Mammoet, a global outfit with plenty of experience hauling “high-wide” loads safely through icy Canada.

“Obviously, the safety of the people transporting the equipment and the safety of the public are paramount,” said spokesman Rolheiser. “If we didn’t think it was safe, we wouldn’t do it.”

The MDT, which has the ultimate authority to approve the idea, will be the final judge. Agency director Jim Lynch said Imperial won’t get a green light unless it follows state laws and regulations, mitigates traffic problems, and proves that roads and bridges won’t be damaged, among other matters. Lynch said MDT has also asked the oil company to do an environmental review.

“It’s important that they [Imperial] recognize they have to follow Montana environmental law and address the impacts, and that they discuss the plans with communities to make sure communities are least impacted,” Lynch said.

Imperial will cover the costs of the process. And the company will need to make hundreds of tweaks to the route before the monster loads can pass through Montana and Missoula without crushing or crashing into things. According to a recent briefing with Missoula County commissioners, Imperial plans to:

-- Relocate utility lines at about 230 crossings and place 77 of them underground.

-- Make 16 fixes on Reserve Street, moving signs and traffic signals.

-- Build or modify dozens of turnouts so the rigs can pull over to let traffic pass, in compliance with a state law that says traffic can’t be held up for more than 10 minutes.

It’s a safe bet, though, that even a 10-minute hold-up won’t be welcomed by drivers if the 48-tire trucks start crawling along.

The first stage of the proposed Montana route starts on Highway 12 at the Idaho border and goes to the Lolo Weigh Scale at the junction of Highway 93, where the rigs would park. Total travel: 33 miles over 2.5 hours, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., with traffic stopped and cleared at the top and bottom of Lolo Pass as the modules execute the hill.

From Lolo, the rigs would travel 22.8 miles on Highway 93, up Reserve Street to Interstate 90. Total travel: 22.8 miles, from midnight to 4 a.m., with traffic stopped while the modules cross eight bridges at 5 mph, en route to a stop at a Highway 200 turnout in Milltown.

Finally, the modules would tackle 105 miles from Highway 200 through Lincoln and over Rogers Pass, parking just before the junction of Highway 287. In subsequent days the loads would travel through Choteau and Cut Bank to Alberta and the Kearl project site in the Athabasca oil sands,
northeast of Fort McMurray.

A Montana test run could be held as early as this summer, officials say.

And if the Imperial plan wins approval?

“Some of our hot-headed Montana drivers will be beating on their steering wheels, so there’ll be a learning curve,” predicted Capt. Tom Hamilton of the Montana State Highway Patrol. Imperial intends to use the Highway Patrol (and reimburse it) for escorting the modules and helping with other safety measures. The company “seems to have this thing down to a science,” Hamilton said.

Imperial, for its part, hopes that after the first few modules rumble through town, people won’t even gawk when they see them.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the first couple of them drew some onlookers,” said Rolheiser. “But we’d hope it would quickly become routine.”

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.