General News
10 January, 2019
Heaviest load ever
VIDEO FOOTAGE: A crowd of onlookers were expected to rise in the early hours of this morning to view the much anticipated ‘superload’ pass through Camperdown on the last leg of its journey to Lismore.
A CROWD of onlookers were expected to rise in the early hours of this morning to view the much anticipated ‘superload’ pass through Camperdown on the last leg of its journey to Lismore.
Measuring 115 metres in length, the superload was transporting a 633 tonne transformer to a substation now under construction on the Lower Darlington Road to service the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm development.
https://youtu.be/CFFE8CIfq98
The load was confirmed as the heaviest to ever pass through Camperdown and travelled on the open roads at a top speed of 20kph.
Originally scheduled to pass through Camperdown about 2.30am Thursday, the load was delayed an extra day due to unforeseen incidents.
A VicRoads statement said a flat tyre at about midnight on Tuesday caused the main delay.
“As you’d expect with a load of this size and weight, changing the flat tyre took some time to fix,” the statement read.
While originally planned to reach Swan Marsh early Wednesday morning, the load finished the second leg of its journey at Beeac at about 9.30am.
The superload set out from the Port of Geelong at 11pm on Monday and travelled through to Waurn Ponds before continuing its journey through Tuesday night to Beeac, where hundreds of people took the opportunity to view the transport.
https://youtu.be/jATj9cjz1xs
The load left Beeac on Wednesday night and finished the third leg of its journey at a truck stop near the former Koala Motel on the Princes Highway west of Colac.
The final stage of the trip was scheduled to set off Thursday evening and travel via the Cobden-Stoneyford Road onto the Camperdown-Cobden Road and travel through the heart of Camperdown on Leura Street before crossing the Princes Highway and heading north to Lismore.
The superload visit created much discussion among locals of all ages, with many committed to setting their alarm clocks to see the rig pass through.
Prior preparations saw two Leura Street elm trees fitted with protective barriers as a precaution against damage from the passing load.