The first megaload has still not left the state.

A giant load of oil field equipment bound for the tar sands of Canada was to remain in a pullout north of Salmon on Tuesday night.  But a second megaload was expected to travel through Arco and enter Lemhi County early this (Wednesday) morning, state highway officials said.

The first of three outsized loads by Oregon shipper Omega Morgan crawled through downtown Salmon on January 5 and traveled another 35 miles north on Highway 93, before parking about ten miles below Lost Trail Pass and the Montana border.

The 901,000-pound shipment, which needs two lanes for travel and is 76 feet longer than a football field, gained permission on Friday to travel through Montana.  But forecasts of icy roads and blowing snow so far have prevented the rig from completing the final leg of its 470-mile journey through Idaho – following a route that cut through Arco, Leadore, and Salmon.

Weather permitting, state transportation officials said on Tuesday, the megaload may get underway as early as this evening – travel through Idaho is allowed from 10 pm to 6 am. Continue reading →