You may have noticed that the traffic on Route 13 was worse than usual on Friday. That’s because of a large oversized load (also known as a “superload” that was being trucked through the city around lunchtime, the third such trip to be undertaken in the span of a year.
The truck and its trailer added up to be over 380 feet long and 20 feet wide. The Ithaca Police Department sent out a traffic advisory shortly before 10 a.m. that morning to warn the public about the potential for delays.
A superload is coming through Ithaca today starting at ~11:30 am. It travels South on East Shore Dr, South on NYS Route 13, South on North/South Meadow St (Meadow St will be closed to traffic), and South on Elmira Rd exiting the city. Please be patient and respect flaggers.
— Ithaca Police (@ithacapolice) November 30, 2018
Some people on Facebook commented to ask why the truck was coming through in the middle of the day, instead of traveling through at night. New York State law provides for specific times that oversized loads such as this one can travel. Monday through Friday, trucks carrying oversized loads can only travel from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. In addition, they can’t go through business districts (like the Rt. 13 corridor) between 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m.
This of course isn’t the first time a truck of this size passed through Ithaca. Back in February and March 2017, two massive 187 ton turbines passed through town. They were making their way from the GE manufacturing plant in Schenectady to their destination in Pennsylvania. The IPD did not disclose the origin or destination of Friday’s superload.
Featured/Stock Image: Creative Commons
Michael Pyskaty 