Giant propane tank passes through area
An 108-foot propane storage tank makes its way up Interstate 79 Tuesday. The 230,000-pound tank traveled from St. Mary’s, W.Va., to a petrochemical company in Newell, W.Va.
An 108-foot propane storage tank makes its way Tuesday from Interstate 79 onto Route 40 off of the Laboratory exit.
A giant propane storage tank headed for the West Virginia panhandle made its way through Greene and Washington counties Tuesday, with a trip up Interstate 79 and onto a number of other area highways.
The 108-foot, 230,000-pound tank, constructed of 1.5-inch steel, was hauled by Brownlee Trucking of West Middletown using two trucks and 25 axles to make the 130-mile trip from St. Mary’s, W.Va., to a petrochemical company in Newell, W.Va.
According to Brownlee Trucking principal Ed Brownlee, when the total hauling package was taken into account, a total of 540,000 pounds was being pulled along the region’s highways.
The set-up, being hauled by not one, but two diesel rigs working in tandem, and escorted by state police and other escort cars, made for a slow ride – a top speed of 20 mph, or about six hours for the 130-mile voyage.
The route was a mix of interstate and other highways. After leaving the Mt. Morris welcome center on I-79, the tank was hauled north to the Laboratory exit.
“They said we couldn’t use the new flyover” at the south junction, Brownlee said, explaining that once the rig exited at Laboratory, it took Route 40 east to Route 519, then entered Interstate 70 west to I-79 north to Route 60.
From there, the truck exited onto Route 22, drove to Route 18, then picked up Route 30 to Chester, W.Va., where it traveled a few more miles over to Newell. From there, it was delivered to Ergon, a petrochemical company that markets propane.
Despite the lengthy and multihighway route, Brownlee knew what to expect from Tuesday’s trek.
“We delivered one of these to the same place last week,” he said.