(June 4, 2010) – The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) and the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) are assisting Exelon Nuclear with a major oversized triple vehicle transport through northeastern Harford County between 7 p.m. Monday night, June 7 and 10 p.m. Thursday, June 10. The specially designed oversized vehicles will haul three new half-million pound power transformers from Havre de Grace to Exelon’s Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Delta, Pa.
The transformer hauling route includes MD 155 (Level Road), I-95 (John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), MD 155 west of I-95, MD 22 (Churchville Road), MD 136 (Priestford/Whiteford Road), and MD 165 (Pylesville Road). Access to homes and businesses will be maintained each night on the hauling route as the slow-moving vehicles proceed along the route. However, the Deer Creek and Broad Creek bridges will be closed to all traffic for two days each to assemble and disassemble temporary bridge structures that will carry each vehicle and its heavy load (total weight 671,000 pounds each). Through traffic along MD 136 will be detoured during both two-day bridge closures. The three vehicles, which will move one to five miles per hour, will be escorted by Maryland State Police (MSP), SHA, MDTA and Exelon’s private hauling contractor (Hake Rigging of Lester, Pa.). The vehicles will move to a pre-determined staging location each night.
This oversized vehicle transport contains three of the six new transformers to be hauled from Havre de Grace to Delta, Pa. The first transformer was successfully moved through Maryland and Pennsylvania in July 2009. All costs associated with the transformer moves will be paid by Exelon.
Area residents and business owners will be able to track the progress of the caravan by calling Exelon’s Transporter Tracker Hotline at 717-456-4932 beginning Monday June 7. Exelon staff will provide recorded message updates as the caravan moves along the route.
For your safety, SHA strongly advises motorists to avoid the hauling route and to plan ahead for temporary road and bridge closures, lengthy detours and extra travel time along MD 155, MD 22, MD 136, MD 165 and other State highways in eastern Harford County during the week of June 7.
This hauling route is considered a rolling work zone. Please slow down, stay alert and expect the unexpected. Keep a safe distance from the caravan as it passes through your community. Choose to make work zone safety your business at
www.choosesafetyforlife.com.
CARAVAN AND BRIDGE CLOSURE SCHEDULE: (all dates and times are approximate)
For more information about the transformers, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, or future transformer moves, please contact Dave Tillman, Communications Manager for Exelon’s office in Delta, Pa. at 717-456-4818. A map of the transformer hauling route and other information about the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station is available on Exelon’s website,
www.exeloncorp.com/programs/peachbottom
For more information about State highways within Harford County, citizens may contact SHA’s District 4 Office in Hunt Valley at 410-229-2300 or toll free at 1-866-998-0367. I-95 information between Baltimore and the Maryland/Delaware State Line is available by the Maryland Transportation Authority at 410-537-1017 or toll-free at 1-866-713-1596. Information on Pennsylvania roads can be obtained by calling PennDOT’s District 8 Office at 717-787-6653.
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