Imperial Oil's test module snakes its way out of North Lewiston along U.S. Highway 12, in Lewiston. The module, which is 250 feet long, 30 feet tall, 24 feet wide and weighs almost 500,000 pounds, will be the first of many the oil company hopes will travel the route on its way to the Kearl Oil Sands project in Alberta, Canada. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)

Things did not go smoothly overnight in the first leg of an ExxonMobil mega-load test shipment. The rig struck trees, knocking one 20-foot-long branch to the highway. Then it hit a guy wire near milepost 47, slicing the high-voltage power line, closing the highway for about an hour and knocking out power to hundreds of residents along U.S. Highway 12 in north central Idaho. The Idaho Transportation Department ordered Mammoet, Exxon's transport company, to investigate the incident before resuming the trip/George Prentice, Boise Weekly. More here.