Monday morning traffic moves past the megaload, parked at the ODOT weigh station on the west edge of John Day (Blue Mountain Eagle/Scotta Callister photo).

Grant County’s newest tourist attraction is parked on Highway 26, at the west end of John Day – but just for the day.

The Omega Morgan megaload transport is expected to set out again Monday night, heading east through John Day, Prairie City, and Austin Junction on Highway 26.

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials said the hauling crew hopes to get as far east as possible toward Unity.

The huge transport – 19 feet tall, 23 feet wide, and 380 feet long, including pusher and puller trucks – is allowed to travel only at night.  The next stops depend on weather and road conditions, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Continue reading →

Forecast: Better moving weather ahead

The Omega Morgan megaload made it out of Dale – but just barely – last night.

The huge transport is parked again about five miles down Highway 395 from the Dale Store, according to proprietor Butch Phelps.

He said the rig left about 8 pm, with company and transportation officials hoping the snowy weather would skirt that area.  Instead, the snow began to fall.

“It started snowing – a flake here and a flake there – while they were having their safety meeting,” he said.

The stretch traveled last night features a steep incline and curves, meaning the transport could only move at a crawl. Continue reading →

The megaload made it to Dale, midway between Pendleton and Mount Vernon, on Wednesday night, but has been stopped again by icy conditions and a snowy weather forecast.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) says the load could remain parked beside Highway 395 at Dale, until the weather allows it to travel again – perhaps Friday.

The load is allowed to move only at night.

ODOT earlier said that Omega Morgan, the hauling company, planned to take the load as far south as Mount Vernon on Wednesday night.  The agency now says that if the load can roll again on Friday evening, it could reach Mount Vernon by Saturday morning, and go through John Day that night. Continue reading →

The first of three so-called “megaloads” continued its eastern Oregon road trip overnight on Tuesday, leaving Pendleton shortly after 9 pm and traveling about 50 miles south on Highway 395.

The massive shipment of tar sands equipment destined for Alberta, Canada, arrived near Ukiah early on Wednesday morning.  From there, it is scheduled to head farther south into Mount Vernon and east through John Day, before heading east on Highway 26 and crossing state lines into southern Idaho. Continue reading →

CTUIR Chair Burke Megaloads Letter to Governor Kitzhaber

Megaload shipments through Eastern Oregon and Idaho received another blow this week in the form of a strongly worded letter from the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), stating concern over the impacts of megaloads and tar sands mining.

In the letter sent Monday, the newly elected Umatilla Chair of the Board of Trustees Gary Burke explains, “First, ODOT [Oregon Department of Transportation] did not adequately consult with the CTUIR on a government-to-government level prior to issuing the [megaload] permit.  Second, the CTUIR has strong concerns regarding the potential long-term and indirect impacts to the CTUIR’s interests caused by tar sands development.”

Read more: Megaload Update: Umatilla Show Solidarity Against Tar Sands

(By CTUIR tribal member x-603, Wey-ow’sux, Cathy Sampson-Kruse)

The first of three scheduled “megaloads” through eastern Oregon is back on the road, as daytime temperatures rose to near 40 degrees on Tuesday in Pendleton.

Omega Morgan, the Hillsboro-based trucking company hired to move the load, made the call after 9 pm to continue on its route south over Battle Mountain Pass toward Ukiah.  The massive shipment of tar sands equipment bound for Canada had been stalled since December 3, due to snow and ice.

The 22-foot-wide, 380-foot-long load is only permitted to move at night, and only when driving conditions are clear, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).  Regional spokesman Tom Strandberg said crews assessed the route to make sure it was safe to travel. Continue reading →

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) says the megaload could move tonight, weather permitting.

The load has been parked at the south edge of Pendleton since last week, due to icy road conditions.  Officials say Omega Morgan is planning to move the load south toward Ukiah tonight.  The load is allowed to move only between 8 pm and 6 am, to limit traffic impacts.

If conditions allow, the load would move on Wednesday night to Mount Vernon, and on Thursday night through John Day and Prairie City to Austin Junction.

ODOT said the load could reach John Day by 9 or 10 pm on Thursday.

All moves are weather-dependent, however.

An Omega Morgan spokeswoman said company crews monitor the conditions each night, to make the call on whether to move.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a 30 percent chance of snow on Thursday in John Day, with snow likely Thursday night.

Friday’s forecast calls for a slight chance of rain and snow, as temperatures rise above freezing.

(By the Blue Mountain Eagle)