Date:  Friday, October 02, 2009

Contact: Jack Dove, Boeing Transportation Manager, 206-930-6035
              Kelly Stowe, WSDOT Communications, 360-357-2716

SHELTON – Motorists can expect delays and a huge visual distraction during the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 4 when a 24-foot-wide, 36-foot-long superload begins a 108-mile trek on US 101 and Interstate 5.

Sometime around 1 a.m., an aircraft carriage used to transport the 747-8 fuselage during production begins its journey from Shelton to Everett.

Escorted by two Washington State Patrol troopers and four pilot cars, the load will enter US 101 near the Mason County fairgrounds just north of Shelton. The large shipment then journeys south to Olympia where it will move onto northbound I-5 at approximately 2 a.m.

WSDOT worked with the carrier to travel during overnight hours to minimize traffic impacts.

For five of the 22 miles on US 101, the superload will take both the north and southbound lanes. WSP will halt northbound traffic near Fredson Road on US 101 until the load travels through the two-lane area.

On three-lane sections of I-5, the roadway will be reduced to a single lane.

A superload is a vehicle or combination with a non-divisible load having a gross weight exceeding 200,000 pounds and/or a width or height exceeding sixteen feet.

For all construction and maintenance updates, visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Regions/Olympic/Construction/.

< Go Back