Have You Gotten Stuck Behind the Superload in the Twin Tiers

Have you seen the “Superload” moving through the region?

If you are going to be traveling at night on Interstate 81 South in Susquehanna County and across Pennsylvania toward Lawrence County in the far western reaches of the Commonwealth, you may get stuck behind the 213 foot-long, 294-ton 'beast' taking up two lanes of road and going 30 miles per hour.

New York State Police say the load passed through Broome before midnight January 12 and Pennsylvania State Police say the cargo going from West Milton in Saratoga County to Wampum, Pennsylvania. had stopped early January 13 in Susquehanna County.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials put out a news release January 12, advising motorists of the mega-load that would begin moving from the eastern part of New York State that day.

A dispatcher in the Gibson barracks says the “superload”, which, from PennDOT social media posts, appears to be giant tires, needs to be inspected before resuming its 400-mile nighttime trek.

Update from listeners in the know: the thing that looks like big tires may actually be a large tank from a nuclear facility. 

The leg of the trip through Susquehanna County through Lackawanna and Luzerne County to Exit 151B to access I-80 west covers 81.59 miles.

PennDOT says the whole trip is supposed to take several nights with a projected arrival date in Wampum of January 21. Weather, of course, could play a hand in that schedule with heavy snow expected through the northeast over the next few days.

Get our free mobile app

Perkins Specialized Transportation Contracting of Becker, Minnesota is transporting the load across 16 counties, maneuvering ramps and unusual traffic patterns as well as the traffic on those roads.   The fastest the thing can move, according to PennDOT, is 30 miles per hour but slower where speed limits are posted below 30MPH.

The curious can sign on to social media to keep track of Superload’s travels by using #PAsuperload22.