May 2, 2012
Colorado

68-ton wind turbine section rolls off truck bed

KKTV, www.kktv.com 1 May 2012

A section of a wind turbine tower weighing 68 tons tumbled off a tractor-trailer rig and onto westbound Pueblo Boulevard at Driftwood around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The road is closed and will remain blocked for several hours.

According to Pueblo Police, the load was being hauled very low to the ground and it appears that one end of the tower section struck the pavement. That impact caused it to shift, rolling with the trailer. It came to rest, still partially connected to the cab, on its right side.

Police say the tower section was from the Vestas plant, and that an official of that company pointed out that the driver failed to secure two cables on the rear part of the trailer. He said those cables are designed to keep the load secure, should it begin to move, and prevent it rolling over.

There were no injuries and the only damage appears to be to the roadway and to the trailer.

Cranes need to be called to lift the tower section onto another trailer. Pueblo Boulevard will be closed until after that operation is finished.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/05/02/68-ton-wind-turbine-section-rolls-off-truck-bed/