Monitoring Megaload Madness on Highway 12

 February 8, 2011

This video shows a Conoco-Phillips mega-load as it travels highway 12 at night along the Wild and Scenic middle fork of the Clearwater River in north central Idaho. The Port of Lewiston, State of Idaho, Conoco-Phillips, and Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil Canada are working to convert Idaho's stretch of U.S. Highway 12 from a beautiful Scenic Byway and All-American Road to an industrial truck route for the transport of gargantuan loads of heavy equipment. The oversize loads block the entire highway as they travel past the rural communities of Orofino, Kamiah and Kooskia, plus other small towns along the route in Idaho, and then across Montana to Canada.

Concerned citizens have been monitoring the activities of these massive shipments and have documented the chaotic nature of the Idaho Transportation Department's traffic management practices and the risks to public safety, travel delays, and damage created by these shipments.