Remember this photo?














And this?












Good on ya Judge John Bradbury. In a major ruling, Judge Bradbury denied permits that would have allowed the ConocoPhillips oil company to start shipments of those ridiculously over-sized loads of oil equipment on Highway 12 to the nasty tar sands of Alberta. He found permits by the Idaho Transportation Department were breaking state rules, a welcome decision after plaintiffs claimed ITD had been operating behind closed doors with oil companies for the past couple years to facilitate the shipments which would bring revenue to the Port of Lewiston.

Calling these shipments way too freakin' big for the road is an understatement. According to the Center For Justice, the plan includes “300 ton coke drums that arrived via barge in Lewiston in May and which dwarf even the trucks that would haul them out of the port. Highway 12 is a relatively narrow, two-lane, scenic highway, and the loads are so large that no traffic can pass in either direction while the shipments are moving on the highway. The only way other traffic can move is when the enormous loads pull over at regular intervals to allow the traffic to flow around the loads.”

The plaintiffs – including Peter Grubb from ROW Adventures and a CFJ boardmember -  argued the shipments will deter tourists from using Highway 12, not to mention the safety and security hazards they would create for emergency vehicles.

“Moreover,” the plaintiffs contend, “the Conoco shipments are the first wave of over 200 heavy haul loads planned by the oil industry to take massive equipment up Highway 12 through the Clearwater/Lochsa river canyon, and over Lolo Pass to distant locations–such as the Alberta tar sand–thereby creating a new ‘high and wide’ industrial transportation corridor along Highway 12.”

However, the Missoulian reported the state of Montana has not yet decided on whether to allow the loads on their highways.

Did you see those photos Montana!?

 

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