663-tonne 'superload' powers through Victoria

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Australasian Transport News (ATN)  /  January 9, 2019

A 663-tonne ‘superload’ is powering through western Victoria on a three-night journey.

The wind farm transformer cargo, hauled by Lampson Australia, started at the Port of Geelong on Januery 7 and will end up at Haunted Gully at Lismore on January 10 – traversing about 220 kilometres and moving no faster than 20km/h throughout its expedition.

At 115 metres long, the convoy is longer than an Airbus A380 (73 metres). It’s also 5.12 metres wide, taking up two lanes, and is 5.5 metres tall, making it the biggest superload to ever come to south western Victoria, VicRoads says.

It is being moved by four prime movers – with three trucks at the front pulling, and one at the rear pushing the load.

It slightly edges the 558-tonne, 108-metre ‘megaload’ which thundered through Melbourne and Victoria’s east last year.

"This is a complex and dynamic operation that has been months in the planning – we’ll be monitoring this convoy every step of the way to ensure the smoothest possible journey and the safest possible road network," VicRoads acting director of heavy vehicle services Marc Paglia says.

"We’ll be escorting this convoy to help ensure a straight forward journey, but it’s important to note drivers may experience delays if they encounter this huge, rolling transport."

Traffic lights and signage is being moved and replaced by support crews and steel supports placed over existing drains to ensure the convoy has the safest possible journey and doesn’t damage important infrastructure on the way through. 

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