Two giant shipments of project cargo are moving through the state of Maryland during the last two weeks of June.
On Thursday, the Chinese vessel Zhen Hua delivered four super post-Panamax container cranes to the Seagirt Terminal in the Port of Baltimore. The highly choreographed trip up the Chesapeake Bay required the temporary closure of the Bay Bridge and the Francis Scott Key Bridge because the cranes came within a few feet of the underside of the bridges and to prevent accidents by distracted drivers.
The cranes were purchased by terminal operator Ports America as part of an expansion to enable handling of ultra-large container vessels. The electric cranes can reach 22 rows across the deck, weigh 1,550 metric tons, and are as tall as a 14-story building in working position.
Ports America expects to have the disassembled cranes installed and operational by September, according to the Maryland Port Administration.
Meanwhile, state agencies are gearing up for a multi-day move next week of a giant transformer from the small port of Havre de Grace at the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Susquehanna River, according to the State Highway Administration. Exelon will begin transporting the 481,000-pound load on an over-sized vehicle Monday to its Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Delta, Pa.
Hake Rigging of Lester, Pa., is transporting the transformer for Exelon.
The convoy will move at about 5 mph along sections of state highways and on I-95.
Due to the extreme weight of the load, two bridges on MD-136 required temporary additional structural support to protect them from damage. The State Highway Administration will close the bridges to all traffic for two days to assemble the enhanced support system.
The transformer is the last of seven to be moved from Havre de Grace to Delta in the past three years. – Eric Kulisch
Big stuff moves through Maryland
