More than 200 megaloads of Korean-made oil equipment bound for Canada should be given the go-ahead to roll across northern Idaho’s scenic U.S. Highway 12, an Idaho state hearing officer ruled Monday.

Retired state Judge Duff McKee, in a 63-page ruling, discounted every protest against the megaloads from a group of residents and business owners along the twisting, two-lane highway, from safety to business interruptions to environmental harm.  His ruling is a recommendation to the Idaho Transportation Department; there’s still an opportunity for motions for reconsideration, a process that could take weeks more.

“I conclude there was no error in procedure on the part of ITD in the issuance of the permit in this case, or any other basis to interfere with the executive determinations of the department in issuing the permits in this case,” McKee wrote in his ruling.

Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil wants to ship more than 200 giant loads of oil field equipment across the Idaho highway, en route from the Port of Lewiston to the Alberta oil sands.  The loads are so large that they’ll block both lanes of the two-lane road, creating a rolling roadblock.

Read more: Hearing Officer Recommends OK for Megaloads

(By Betsy Russell, The Spokesman-Review)