Last Super-Sized Load for TVA Plant Travels Knoxville to Hawkins County

I-40 will briefly close at Exit 398 in Knox County

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A super-sized transporter will briefly close Interstate 40 in Knox County on Saturday, Jan. 22, when it hauls a massive power generator from Knoxville to the Tennessee Valley Authority's new John Sevier natural gas plant in Hawkins County, Tenn.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100304/TVALOGO)

The 345-foot-long transporter is scheduled to leave the Forks of the River Industrial Park in east Knox County at about 6 a.m. EST, weather permitting. The transporter will travel along John Sevier Highway and Strawberry Plains Pike until it reaches the I-40 overpass at Exit 398.

The generator will be too tall to fit under the I-40 overpass, so it will be diverted up the on-ramp, across the interstate median and down the off-ramp. This will cause a brief closing of I-40 around 10:30 a.m. EST that is expected to last about 20 minutes. After crossing the interstate, the generator will continue along a pre-determined route through portions of Knox, Jefferson, Hamblen and Hawkins counties. Completing the entire 76-mile trip is expected to take three days.

The transport company, Barnhart Crane & Rigging Co., will use a specially designed heavy lift trailer to haul the generator. The transporter and generator together will weigh 660 tons. The Knox County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Transportation will escort the rig and help with the road closure.

Due to the generator's size, the transporter will average only 5-10 mph. Motorists traveling near the hauling operation may experience delays and should use caution.

The generator haul is the largest of the previous seven loads transported to the new power plant site near Rogersville.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development.

Media Note: For detailed route information, contact Regan Watson, Barnhart Crane and Rigging Co. at 901-271-6516.

SOURCE Tennessee Valley Authority