Large freight load to travel along Highway 86 tonight
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
BAKER CITY – Update: In addition to the below listed nighttime delays on OR 86 tomorrow, expect nighttime delays on Saturday and early Sunday morning for return transport of empty 14-foot-wide trailer. The empty trailer will travel west from Copperfield to Interstate 84 sometime between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. the following morning. Flaggers and pilot cars will direct traffic as needed. Plan extra travel time and watch for traffic control crews.
BAKER CITY – (Release provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation) Motorists should expect nighttime delays of up to twenty minutes on Oregon Highway 86 (Baker-Copperfield Highway) starting 10 p.m. Wednesday evening, September 15 and ending before 5 a.m. Sept. 16. The travel impacts are required to accommodate a 16-foot-wide, 185-foot-long and 421,726-pound load of transformer equipment.
The shipment will travel between 25 and 50 miles per hour through Baker County, primarily on OR 86. Motorists need to watch for pilot cars, flaggers, traffic control crews and to plan extra travel time during this nighttime operation.
To evenly distribute the extreme weight of the shipment it may move down the center of the roadway at times, depending on road width, taking up both travel lanes. Traffic will be stopped at regular intervals with pilot cars informing the movers when to pull over to allow oncoming vehicles and backed up traffic to pass.
The oversize load will begin its journey at the west end of Baker City and travel through town before connecting to the Baker-Copperfield Highway (OR 86) and heading east through Richland to the Idaho border. The equipment will leave Oregon at Copperfield.
The travel dates and time may change depending on weather and other unforeseen conditions. Update information will be released through the media if there are changes in the move schedule. Alerts will also be posted on TripCheck.com during the move and commuters are reminded to check the website before heading out.
The freight contains no hazardous materials, fuels or liquids.
