May 3, 2007
Alberta, Ontario

Windmill parts to navigate city streets

Moving gigantic mechanical parts through a city presents a challenge.

Thunder Bay motorists will soon notice some large pieces of machinery being moved from the waterfront and through the city over the next few weeks. The giant pieces when reassembled will make 17 huge wind turbines, destined for a new wind farm in Taber, Alberta. The moving process is expected to cause some major delays on city streets and area highways and that has police officials urging patience from the public.

Sgt. Glenn Porter says it definitely presents a challenge to move the windmill components out of Keefer Terminals down the Harbour Expressway and out of the city on Highway 11/17. They will be escorted along the way by Thunder Bay Police for two very important reasons, they are wide and they are slow.

For the first couple days of the next three weeks, the process will be repeated and it isn’t a fast one. Porter estimates that it will take between a half and three quarters of an hour to get these large loads through the city. But the delays, won’t stop there, motorists all along the Trans-Canada all the way to Alberta will be affected. Porter urges motorists to use caution if they encounter the loads on the highway saying the delays should only be temporary.

While transporting the turbine components may cause a minor inconvenience for motorists, the economic impact of having them coming through Thunder Bay is major.

The turbines that will eventually be spinning in Alberta will have an economic spin-off for the city as they’re offloaded at the Port and navigate their way through Thunder Bay.

tbsource.com

2 May 2007


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/05/03/windmill-parts-to-navigate-city-streets/