Massive turbines trucked toward Site C dam in wide, slow convoy

PRINCE GEORGE

Two massive sections of turbine for the Site C hydroelectric project in British Columbia are being trucked slowly toward the dam and have reached Prince George.

Two eight-metre-wide by five-metre-tall turbine runners are being transported from the Port of Prince Rupert to the Chetwynd area and drivers are warned of more overnight closures as the wide load turns north.

The runners are the heart of a turbine where water power is changed into rotational force, driving the generator that produces hydroelectricity.

Site C will need six of the 170-tonne runners, and the two in transport have been crawling east on Highway 16 since Sunday, moving in stages overnight because they are so wide the route must be closed for safety.

The Ministry of Highways says in an advisory drivers should expect delays as the oversized cargo turns north on Highway 97 to Bear Lake early Wednesday and will finish the trip to Chetwynd by 6 a.m. Thursday.

Site C is slated for completion by 2024, but a report that will help the province evaluate the status of the multibillion-dollar megaproject is under review and its findings could be presented to cabinet as early as Wednesday.