Super-heavy load to delay traffic en route from Blackfalds to Fort McMurray

Drivers in central and northern Alberta could face delays this week as a large industrial load makes its way toward Fort McMurray.

The super-heavy shipment, a motor control centre building, left Blackfalds on April 22 and is travelling north over three days, arriving at an industrial site south of Fort McMurray on April 24.

The oversized load will move at speeds of up to 65 kilometres per hour and will take up the full width of the highway, including shoulders, while accompanied by guide vehicles.

The structure being transported measures nearly eight metres wide, more than eight metres high and about 52 metres long, with a total weight of more than 200,000 kilograms.

It will follow a route through several highways in central Alberta before heading north on Highway 63, with scheduled stops near Radway and about 35 kilometres south of Fort McMurray.