U.S. Route 12 in Idaho - Equipment Shipments

Equipment Shipments

U.S. Route 12 through Idaho has been proposed as a route for shipment of huge equipment from Lewiston, an inland port, to oil sands facilities near Fort McMurray, Alberta and to a refinery in Billings, Montana. On two-lane portions of the road, the equipment, weighing as much as 300 tons and as much as 30 feet high and 24 feet wide would occupy the entire roadway. The route is preferable to other routes due to the lack of underpasses and the great distances involved. The alternative is transport across the Great Plains from Texas or New Orleans On U.S. 12 the major obstacle would be power lines which would have to be raised or buried. That and other alterations to the highway such as turnouts would be would be paid for by the companies. The trucks would transport only at night, moving short distances between places where they would pull off and let traffic pass. A permit granted by the Idaho Transportation Department to ConocoPhillips in August 2010 is the subject of litigation initiated by householders along the route. On January 19, 2011 it was announced that the Idaho government would issue permits for four loads of refinery equipment to be transported from Lewiston to Billings.

The Port of Lewiston is the furthest inland seaport on the West Coast of the United States of America. It ships wheat, barley, legumes to Asia and the South Pacific as well as the Middle East and Africa.There are also inland seaports at the port of Clarkston, Washington and Port of Wilma in Whitman County, WA.