Massive trucks with trailers may impact traffic in Adams County

By Sherry Larson

People’s Defender

What is a super load? In Ohio – it’s a transport over 120,000 pounds of gross weight, 160 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 14.6 feet high. (wideloadshipping.com)

Adams County Chief Deputy Sheriff Bob Ruebusch shared information about a recent department debriefing about super loads that will soon be coming through southern to central Ohio. According to The Loop, “Several large loads will be shipped by barge up the Ohio River to a port in Manchester.” The planning for this endeavor has been extensive and involved several agencies. The Ohio Department of Transportation coordinated with the Ohio State Patrol, who will escort the super load transport. The local Sheriff’s Departments were notified for essential dissemination of information.

The massive pieces of cargo will be loaded on trailers and trucked up a predesignated route to their destination in central Ohio. ODOT’s Jacque Annarino of the Office of Transportation and Economic Development reported they have been working on coordinating these loads for at least six months and on some of them for almost a year. Matt Brunning of The Loop reported that ODOT kicked off virtual meetings for stakeholders in early February to ensure everyone involved was on the same page.

Ruebusch indicated that the loads would impact traffic and wanted to ensure that Adams County residents were notified and not surprised. Ruebusch reported that the most significant load expected is 900,000 pounds, 270 feet long, 19 feet wide, and 24 feet high.

Ruebusch said the loads will be “Coming through New Orleans hit the Mississippi, come up to Ohio to Manchester – that’s a long way.” Initially, 20 loads were expected, but an extra 15 have been added. The offloading site is the McCoy Station east of Manchester, Ohio, near the old power plant.

The first loads are slated to begin unloading and moving on February 21, but Ruebusch notes that weather conditions and other factors may alter the schedule. For information on the super loads schedule, follow ODOT District 9.

Each load will take eight to 15 days to travel from Manchester to Heath or Hebron in Licking County and New Albany in Franklin County. Adams County will be affected by 14 miles of the journey. The loads can move 10 miles per hour, but Ruebusch assumes they will move at a “snail’s pace.” Once the items are offloaded from the barge at the McCoy Station in Manchester, they will be moved to a location near US Route 23 where they can stop overnight. US Route 23 runs north and south. The loads will be traveling northbound in the southbound lanes. The People’s Defender is awaiting a response from Rob Hayslip of the Georgetown State Patrol for more details. Hayslip is the commander for Adams County’s portion of the journey and is responsible for getting the loads to US Route 23. “As far as moving these units, they’re going to have about 10 State Patrol,” said Ruebusch. The patrol will be in front, staggered in the middle, and behind the caravan, along with a team of utility trucks.

Ruebusch explained that there would be approximately two weeks between each load. When discussing moving the first 20 loads, the timeline was estimated to be nine months.

Although the Adams County Sheriff’s Department doesn’t actively participate in the super loads process, they want to inform residents. And they want to ensure first responders are aware and ready.

“This is a real economic boom for Ohio to be a part of this,” said Ruebusch, who believes the process will get easier as they work out snags. The process is certainly familiar to ODOT, which processes special permits daily and assesses the various scenarios and impacts.