A 390 tonne, 90 metre long superload has made its way from Melbourne to SA, arriving at the Torrens Island Power Station after a 1000km journey.
It arrived at the power station at about 4am this morning. The superload is a high voltage power transformer, which will be used as a component of the Torrens Island battery project.
This project is owned by AGL and involves a $180 million, 250 MW grid-scale battery that will be used to support renewable energy generation within the state. It’s currently being constructed by Wärtsilä.
The transformer first hit the road last week, accompanied by traffic management officers and load escorts, who were there for the entire trip.
The Drone Way captured this incredible footage, which was shared on Youtube.
Overdimensional Lift & Shift (ODLS), an over dimension transport specialist, was tasked with the delicate transport task.
The superload departed from Glen Waverley in Melbourne at around 10pm on July 13. Travelling through the night, the superload went through Yarraville and onto Ballarat, where it remained until Saturday July 16 – before embarking on its next leg of the journey.
Travelling along the Western Highway, it headed to Horsham before arriving in Bordertown SA the next day.
The South Australian journey was via Pinnaroo and the Riverland, before getting onto the Sturt Highway at Blanchetown and then the Northern Expressway near Gawler.
The superload then travelled down the Northern Connector, Port River Expressway and Grand Trunkway, before finally arriving at Torrens Island, near Adelaide, this morning.
Due to the complex nature of the task and the size of the load, the average speed was 40-60km/h throughout the journey.
The 160/278 MVA 275/33/33kV power transformer was produced by Wilson Transformer Company, Australia’s largest power and distribution transformer manufacturer, established way back in 1933.