Oversize Loads

PHOENIX ‒ The Arizona Department of Transportation is helping urgently needed equipment reach Texas as quickly as possible by waiving fees and expediting permits so commercial vehicles hauling oversize loads can get there faster.

The effort began over the weekend so trucks hauling eight emergency generators could depart a Caterpillar facility in Phoenix for Fort Hood, Texas, about 200 miles northwest of Houston. The generators will provide power for emergency crews responding to areas flooded and damaged by Hurricane Harvey.

PHOENIX – With a large Navajo Nation farming operation facing an emergency due to a broken water pipeline, the Arizona Department of Transportation has arranged for two oversize loads carrying 17-foot-wide pipes to travel through the state from southwest to northeast early Saturday.

An oversized load moving through the state will require a brief closure of eastbound I-10 near Benson early Sunday (Dec. 6).

Class C permits help oversize loads travel safely through the state.

A majorly massive haul consisting of one (very big) transformer is being moved (very slowly) through Arizona to its final destination in Yuma.

Now that you know a little about the ADOT permitting process involved with moving oversize loads, take a look at the latest heavy haul to cross Arizona’s highways. The video above shows just a portion of the journey this 285-ton load took beginning the first week of August.

When it comes to describing some hauls, the term “oversize load” is a major understatement. We’re talking about the enormous “super-loads” driven through the state each day. Maybe you’ve seen them on the freeways … they’re the trucks lugging gigantic transformers, generators, turbines, and even houseboats.