Tower bound for Husky Energy halts traffic in Superior
It took a truck and trailers with 24 total axles and 156 tires on the ground to deliver the 280-foot-long structure.
Students from Cathedral School in Superior watch Tuesday morning, Nov. 10, as a convoy from Barnhart Crane and Rigging Company, of Memphis, haul an energy tower to Husky’s Superior Refinery. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the rig had 24 total axles, was 280 feet long, had 156 tires on the ground and weighed nearly 700,000 lbs. The crew of 17 left Oklahoma City on October 25, traveling more than 1600 miles at a max speed of 35 mph. It’s the second-largest load ever to enter the state. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
The second-largest load ever to enter the state, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, went through Superior on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
An energy tower weighing nearly 700,000 pounds was delivered to Husky Energy's Superior refinery. The tower, called a deisobutanizer, will remove isobutane and other gases that are present in crude oil in the crude recovery unit. It will replace former, outdated processes, according to Husky communications manager Dawn Delaney. When assembled, the tower will rise 170 feet high and weigh 130 tons.
The traveling tower shut down traffic at intersections and on the Bong Bridge on Tuesday. It took a truck and trailers with 24 total axles and 156 tires on the ground to deliver the 280-foot-long structure.
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A worker from Barnhart Crane and Rigging Company, of Memphis, rides on the outside of the rig hauling an energy tower down Hill Avenue to Husky’s Superior Refinery Tuesday, Nov.10. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the rig had 24 total axles, was 280 feet long, had 156 tires on the ground and weighed nearly 700,000 lbs. The crew of 17 left Oklahoma City on October 25, traveling more than 1600 miles at a max speed of 35 mph. It’s the second-largest load ever to enter the state. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
Wisconsin DOT staff in the oversize, overweight permit section have been planning the delivery for more than a year, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.
“The convoy of vehicles and crew of 17 people left Oklahoma City on October 25. They traveled more than 1,600 miles, through six states, at a max speed of 35 mph to deliver the load,” the post said.
A second heavy load is on its way to the refinery. Delaney said a vacuum tower is expected to arrive in two to three weeks.
Students from Cathedral School in Superior watch Tuesday morning, Nov. 10, as a convoy from Barnhart Crane and Rigging Company, of Memphis, haul an energy tower down Belknap Street to Husky’s Superior Refinery. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the rig had 24 total axles, was 280 feet long, had 156 tires on the ground and weighed nearly 700,000 lbs. The crew of 17 left Oklahoma City on October 25, traveling more than 1600 miles at a max speed of 35 mph. It’s the second-largest load ever to enter the state. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
A convoy from Barnhart Crane and Rigging Company, of Memphis, hauls an energy tower down Hill Avenue to Husky’s Superior Refinery Tuesday, Nov.10. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the rig had 24 total axles, was 280 feet long, had 156 tires on the ground and weighed nearly 700,000 lbs. The crew of 17 left Oklahoma City on October 25, traveling more than 1600 miles at a max speed of 35 mph. It’s the second-largest load ever to enter the state. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
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This story was updated at 12:45 p.m. Nov. 11 with a video of the tower driving through Superior. It was originally posted at 4:28 p.m. Nov. 10.
