A transformer had arrived in Montana after making a long journey by rail, all the way up from Mexico. Our customer in charge of the transformer’s transportation now needed to get the transformer to its end destination: an electrical substation in Anaconda, Montana. There was one problem with that, however, and it was a rather big one: the load would not be able to pass under a bridge along the route. The dimensions were just too high.

Our specialized transportation teams have dealt with seemingly impossible–and impassable–routes before; we came in to assist the customer to work out an achievable route for the transformer.

CAREFUL AND COORDINATED PLANNING

We started planning this route about 5 months before the actual transportation would take place. Our crews had to solve for keeping the overall ride height to a minimum, and determining how to get around the bridge that would not accommodate the load. It came down to the need for our trailers to go in the wrong direction on two different interstates in order to make the trip possible.

This opened up a huge combined effort between our specialized transportation crew, the State of Montana, traffic control, and the state police. The planning required a significant amount of communication and coordination in order to ensure that the motoring public would be safe during this tricky move.

THE BIG DAY: MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE

The first step was to transload the transformer from the railcar to our high frame trailer. Using our jack and slide system, our specialized transportation team carefully transloaded the transformer without a hitch. Using our Kenworth C500 tractor and our Kenworth T800 Tri-Drive tractor, the crews got on the road to Anaconda.

With the state police as our escorts, our trailers utilized the “wrong-way” route that had been blocked off to motorists. As part of the preparation for the project, the public was also notified that these closures would be taking place; everything was done with the utmost concern for the safety of the public and our crew.

A SAFE ARRIVAL AND A SATISFIED CUSTOMER

Once the transformer arrived at the site, our crews offloaded it to our six-line self-propelled line trailer, moved it inside the substation, and jack-and-slid the unit off the trailer before setting it on the pad. There’s nothing like a holistic, turn-key solution to round out a project.

Our customer was very pleased with the work on this job, and we’re very glad we could be of assistance in a complex situation.

If your project needs careful planning, attention to detail, and a team with the expertise to execute, call on Omega Morgan’s specialized transportation services. We got this.