In pictures: Roads shut in Suffolk for power station section delivery
- Published
The abnormal load had to be moved along tight residential streets
Rolling road closures were in place in Suffolk as a giant section of a power station was moved.
The vehicle carrying the transformer is approximately 80m (262.4ft) in length and weighs 500-600 tonnes.
It travelled from Ipswich Docks to Eye Airfield to deliver part of the Progress Power Station at the former US airbase, arriving at about 19:50 BST.
Streets in Ipswich - where lampposts had to be removed - the A14 and A140, have been affected.
A temporary bridge was made at Brockford Street on the A140
A temporary bridge was installed at Brockford Street to accommodate the load, with the A140 reopened after it had been dismantled.
The massive transformer itself measures 10.6m in (35ft) length and weighs 221.8 tonnes.
The load passed over the bridge before carrying on its journey
It is the first of three sections to be transported, with a turbine and generator to be moved on the next two consecutive Sundays.
The operation was originally due to start on 8 October but was put back after the load was delayed in Europe.
The abnormal load initially snaked through the streets of Ipswich
The road trip is about 40km (25 miles) and started at 06:30 BST, first snaking through the streets of Ipswich.
The transformer came off the A14 at junction 51 (Claydon) and joined the A140.
Lampposts were removed to allow the massive energy transformer to snake through Ipswich
The journey needed to move at walking speed - but could get up to 15-20mph on the A140, officials said.
It is regarded as an abnormal load, when a vehicle bears a weight of more than 44,000kg (44 tonnes), a width of more than 2.9m (9.5ft) and a rigid length of more than 18.65m (61ft).
The convoy has to move at walking pace
Suffolk County Council's Paul West said: "A great deal of careful planning and joint working goes into an operation such as this one."
The abnormal load snaked through the county
, Suffolk Highways said on X that the load had arrived at its destination and added: "We're now heading home for much-needed rest."
Queues of traffic could be seen behind the load on the A140 on Sunday night
After a day-long journey, it arrived at Eye Airfield about 19:50 on Sunday
Updates on the load's progress were being posted on the .
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- Published22 September 2023
- Published12 October 2023
