A Coordinated Effort: Transporting and Unloading a Shunt Reactor in British Columbia Canada

A world-class third-party logistics company needed to transport a shunt reactor from the Port of Tacoma in Washington state up to the Site C Clean Energy Project, a hydroelectric generating station in British Columbia, Canada. Everything about this transport would need to be right on the timing. There was only a small window of time to get the reactor up there, and since there were many other contractors at work on this massive site, it was important that workflow wasn’t interrupted in any way.

The logistics company contacted Omega Morgan’s transportation and logistics services crew out of our Calgary office to develop an expert logistics plan and transport the shunt reactor. Our transportation and logistics services are known for unmatched safety, reliability and efficiency, and our Calgary crew was more than up to the task.

The Heavy Haul

Our crew transported the shunt reactor from the EB1 Terminal at the Port of Tacoma nearly 900 miles north to Site C. The reactor was a heavy load to haul–on the ground, it measured 23’8” long by 10’10” wide by 13’8” tall and weighed around 213,000 pounds.

A 2015 Kenworth C500 was used as a pull tractor on the load, pulling with a 150-ton trailer. Due to the sizable weight, our crew used a push truck on the back to keep the load moving at a reasonable pace. OM’s transport and logistics teams worked together to find third-party trucks to transport the accessory loads for the shunt reactor.

All in all, the transport and logistics went smoothly and the reactor arrived safely. The next step was to unload and set the reactor in place.

The Challenge: Staying Stable on Soft Ground

Once our crew arrived at the site with the reactor, the yard where it was going to be set threw a curveball our way. The ground was soft, and the team needed to come up with a plan to prevent the reactor from sinking into the ground as it made its way from the entrance to the pad.

The crew used additional crane mats so the reactor could be moved without sinking. Since the crew needed to use the entire road to get from the entrance to the pad, they made a plan to coordinate with the many other contractors on site. Everything had to be timed perfectly so that workflow for the entire site wouldn’t be disrupted.

Coordinating across this many crews was a unique set of circumstances; fortunately, everything went off without a hitch. Our team kept the reactor steady while it was unloaded with slide equipment, and set the shunt reactor in place in a small window of time.

The Omega Morgan crew’s hard work resulted in a pristine transformer safely in place at the Site C Clean Energy Project. We’re happy to report that our client was impressed with how quickly we were able to get the transformer there and set on the pad–our crews ended up beating the estimated completion date by a few days. We’re always grateful for the opportunity to provide efficient and exceptional service that satisfies our customers.