Eight big rigs a day will be hauling the massive pieces of the Hatchet Ridge wind project into the north state starting May 24. Moving all 44 of the turbines, along with their blades and towers, will continue into late July, said Julie Lee, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. The trucks are set to leave early each workday morning.
Eight big rigs a day will be hauling the massive pieces of the Hatchet Ridge wind project into the north state starting May 24. Moving all 44 of the turbines, along with their blades and towers, will continue into late July, said Julie Lee, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. The trucks are set to leave early each workday morning.
Eight big rigs a day will be hauling the massive pieces of the Hatchet Ridge wind project into the north state starting May 24.
Moving all 44 of the turbines, along with their blades and towers, will continue into late July, said Julie Lee, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. The trucks are set to leave early each workday morning - about 6 a.m. - from either Gerber or the California-Nevada state line, depending on what they're carrying.
"They want to get out of there and get out before the commute," she said.
The controversial project, which the Shasta County Board of Supervisors approved on Election Day 2008, should be finished late this summer and start producing power this fall, its builders have said.
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... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Eight big rigs a day will be hauling the massive pieces of the Hatchet Ridge wind project into the north state starting May 24.
Moving all 44 of the turbines, along with their blades and towers, will continue into late July, said Julie Lee, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. The trucks are set to leave early each workday morning - about 6 a.m. - from either Gerber or the California-Nevada state line, depending on what they're carrying.
"They want to get out of there and get out before the commute," she said.
The controversial project, which the Shasta County Board of Supervisors approved on Election Day 2008, should be finished late this summer and start producing power this fall, its builders have said.
From Gerber, a string of five trucks each day will carry three 185-foot blades, a hub and a 330,000-pound turbine housing, Lee said. From the state line, a line of three trucks will carry three separate pieces of the 260-foot towers.
Lee said it's unclear how long it will take to haul the pieces to Hatchet Ridge, which is off of Highway 299 near Burney.
"We will just have to see the first day how long it will take them to get there," she said.
Each day a full set of tower parts, turbine and blades should make it to Hatchet Ridge, said Joan Inlow, a construction project manager for Pattern Energy. La Jolla-based Pattern will operate the wind turbines - which will produce up to 101 megawatts, or enough to power about 44,000 homes - as a company called Hatchet Ridge Wind. The haul will take 44 days in all, with the trucks rolling on weekends or holidays.
"It's a very good schedule," Inlow said.
The trucks from Gerber will travel seven miles along a county road to Red Bluff then roll north on Interstate 5 for about 30 miles before going east on Highway 299 for about 50 miles.
The trucks from the state line will travel about 70 miles on Highway 395 to Susanville then go about 80 miles on highways 44, 89 and 299 to get to Hatchet Ridge.
The California Highway Patrol will provide escorts for the trucks, which may need to have traffic stopped as they navigate tight turns, Lee said.
"They will be going pretty slow on Highway 299 in places," she said.
To help keep drivers posted on potential clogs, Caltrans will post updates through a Twitter feed throughout the move, Lee said. The Twitter feed is at www.twitter.com/GoWindTurbines. For more information about the move, go to www.dot.ca.gov/dist2/turbines.htm.