At 935,000 combined pounds, the three Alberta tar sands transports scheduled to damage Highway 95 and Moscow streets on Thursday, January 12, build the heaviest Imperial Oil convoy ever.  If the vestiges of a cool climate and winter weather do not scuttle another reinforcing trip to the world’s biggest (232-square-mile) mine, three 24-feet wide, 15-feet high shipments respectively weighing 135,000, 375,000, and 425,000 pounds and measuring 110, 195, and 215 feet long could leave the Port of Lewiston after 8 pm.  All of the transports will travel separately except through Moscow, as the smaller module on a conventional trailer moves toward Lookout Pass and the two megaloads on hydraulic trailers lumber toward a parking/staging area near Worley.  Idaho state troopers, pilot vehicle drivers, flaggers, and Moscow city police, all paid by the hauler Mammoet, will guard and escort this tar sands equipment instead of the citizen safety, access, and convenience we should all demand on our own roads. Continue reading →