‘Super load’ bound for Lock Haven is poised to reach Centre County this weekend
A truck hauling a Yankee dryer “super load” bound for First Quality Tissue in Lock Haven will pass through Centre County Saturday morning, causing traffic disruptions and a possible hourslong road shutdown.
The super load, which weighs 628,000 pounds and measures 217 feet long, 20 feet high and 20 feet wide, started its nine-county journey at the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority last Thursday. Though super loads have passed through Pennsylvania before, this is the first to come through the Erie port, said PennDOT District 2 spokesperson Marla Fannin.
Yankee dryers are pressure vessels typically used to remove excess moisture from pulp used in the production of paper products.
On Friday morning, the super load stopped for the day due to changing weather conditions at the former Kephart Trucking building in Clearfield County, a few miles east of the State Route 970/U.S. Route 322 intersection in Woodland, said Fannin.
Beginning 7 a.m. Saturday, said a PennDOT press release, the super load will depart from the Bigler intersection on U.S. 322 east.
It will enter Philipsburg between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday, then continue east on U.S. 322 for 6.9 miles. PennDOT is encouraging drivers in the Philipsburg area to use alternate routes.
Once the load reaches the Port Matilda Mountain, it will travel east using Route 322 west for 4 miles.
“We will be closing westbound lanes to traffic as it makes that movement,” said Fannin. She added, “They have to move eastbound in the westbound lanes specifically on Port Matilda Mountain to avoid all those sharp turns.”
While the super load travels down the mountain, Fannin said, the westbound lanes will be closed to traffic for one to two hours. Eastbound lanes will likely remain open to traffic as the super load makes its way down the mountain in the westbound lanes, she said.
Once it reaches the bottom of the mountain, the super load will use a crossover at Blazosky Road to get back onto Route 322 eastbound, where it will travel for another 0.3 miles before exiting onto North High Street in Port Matilda for 1.4 miles.
Then, the load will turn onto South Eagle Valley Road/Alternate 220 to head north for 16.8 miles, passing through Julian, Unionville and Wingate. When it gets to Milesburg, the super load will exit briefly at Milesburg to avoid the bridge that spans State Route 144 and immediately follow the entrance ramp to Alternate 220/South Eagle Valley Road.
By Sunday, PennDOT said, the super load will get onto Interstate 80 at the Milesburg interchange and stay on it for 12.8 miles before crossing into Clinton County, where it will travel for over 30 miles to reach First Quality in Lock Haven.
State police vehicles are escorting the super load to ensure safety and flaggers will be stationed at specific locations and intersections along the route to assist with traffic control during counterflow movements, said Fannin.
“Utility poles and signals have to be moved out of the way (of the load),” she said. “...We are inspecting certain bridges before the super load crosses and then immediately after as well.”
Donald Bretthorst, the super load driver and owner of Indiana-based truck company D&G Heavy Haul, said his trip through western and central Pennsylvania has been filled with more obstacles than his trips through less populated areas in Texas, California and New Mexico.
“What we’re dealing with now is every little town you come into is just wire after wire after wire, then when you steer around the corner you’re looking at an 8% grade so you can’t get any speed ... you can’t shift gears fast enough, and that’s how you break things,” he said.
He also joked that if he had a dollar for every person who took a picture of him during this trip, he wouldn’t have to work again.
“I can’t believe how many people come out in the rain to watch this thing go by,” he said.
Traveling at speeds up to 15 miles per hour, the super load has been averaging about 25 miles a day, said PennDOT District 2 Safety Press Officer Timothy Nebgen. Travel has been limited to daylight hours, and is weather dependent, said Fannin.
Late last week, the super load stalled in Crawford County due to mechanical problems, the Meadville Tribune reported. But, “since then, they’ve made good time,” said Fannin. The load is expected to reach Lock Haven early next week.
A complete list of the planned route from Erie to Lock Haven can be found in the initial PennDOT release at www.penndot.gov/district2.
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 11:26 AM.
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