Starting this week, people traveling in Central and Southern Ohio might need to rearrange their plans to avoid huge truckloads of materials that will be on the roads from the Ohio River up to the new Intel site in New Albany and another site in nearby Hebron.
About two dozen “superloads” of equipment will be transported in total. And Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Bruning said that won’t be an easy task.
“These are not loads that are just you jump in the truck, plug in the coordinates for Google Maps and take off. It takes a lot of planning and coordination,” Bruning said.
Bruning said some roads will be closed as electric lines and road signs are temporarily moved. He said the trucks will be transporting units and parts for Intel and other companies that are building facilities in Central Ohio.
Bruning said the “superloads” will take anywhere from eight to 15 days to make the complete trip, depending on the destination and the weight.
“They are going to be moving very, very slow. Each one of these is probably going to max out at about 10 to 15 miles per hour,” Bruning said. “So this is going to be a very slow-moving operation, a slow roadblock, if you will, as it moves north.”
Bruning said there has been a lot of planning involved in the process with a lot of leaders from various communities affected. He said the “superloads” will happen over the next few months and have been planned so they won’t interfere with community events like Election Day, fairs or festivals.
Bruning said the best way to know what roads will be closed and when is to check on ODOT’s website. He said the slow-moving loads should be apparent on the cameras serving those areas.
Copyright 2024 The Statehouse News Bureau.