Traffic impacts from Xcel Energy moving equipment from Loveland to St. Vrain Generating station

Traffic will be impacted from Loveland to Platteville on Saturday as Xcel Energy moves million-pound equipment throughout the region beginning at 7 a.m., including a full closure on Interstate 25 at the Longmont exit midday.

A vehicle carrying one turbine weighing 1.25 million pounds — dual trailers, each with 166 tires, and a truck on each trailer, one pulling and one pushing — will be traveling about 5 mph from Loveland to the Fort St. Vrain Generating Station, down U.S. 287 to Colorado 66, then crossing Interstate 25 and continuing east on Colorado 66.

“It weighs just north of 1 million 200 (pounds), one truck at the front, one truck at the back, and some skilled people to get it there,” said Hans Rodvik, area manager for Xcel Energy, which hired heavy hauler Mammoet to move the turbine that arrived in Loveland by rail. The specialized crew, from several different states, arrived about two weeks ago to prepare for the move.

The team of 13 workers who have been all over the world hauling equipment that is much heavier than this turbine — which will be for natural gas operations at Fort St Vrain Generating Station — is working with Xcel, Colorado Department of Transportation, local municipalities and the Colorado State Patrol, which will have seven troopers escorting the load.

The entire setup is over 300 feet long and just over 19 feet tall. In preparation, Loveland crews raised some traffic signal heads about 2 feet to accommodate the equipment, City Traffic Engineer Matt Ruder said in an emailed statement.

The journey begins in Loveland, and the transport will travel south on Madison Avenue, starting near Eighth Street, head west on First Street and then south out of Loveland on U.S. 287 (Lincoln Avenue), Ruder added. From there, it will head south on U.S. 287 toward Longmont, jutting off on Berthoud Parkway and Colorado 56, before returning to 287, according to the transport crew.

In Longmont, the route will continue east on Colorado 66, cross Interstate 25 on the highway itself, not the bridge, then return to east Colorado 66, going down a few Weld County Roads before making it to the station.

Interstate 25 will be closed in both directions at the Longmont/Lyons exit as the gigantic trailer crosses the interstate.

“These things are so massive,” said Jared Fiel, a spokesperson for CDOT. “They’re over a million pounds … They weigh so much, they can’t go over our bridges.”

So instead, the truck will go onto I-25 south, cross the median at an emergency pull through, then go back north and exit again at Colorado 66. Both lanes of the interstate will be closed during that maneuver. The timing is fluid depending on how it goes on the rest of the route, but the estimated closure time for I-25 is 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to CDOT.

“It’s a very large load,” said Michelle Aguayo, spokesperson for Xcel. “It’s over 300 feet long. That’s also why it can’t go more than 5 mph.”

This load is one turbine, and an additional three transports will follow in the coming weeks, another turbine and two generators. Dates have not been confirmed for the next three transports.

Xcel Energy is moving generators and turbines as part of its 2024 Clean Energy Plan to add 6,100 megawatts of new generation to help the company meet electric needs over the next few years, the press release stated. Two 200 megawatt natural gas combustion turbines will be installed at the Fort St. Vrain Generating Station, making it Xcel’s largest power plant in Colorado as part of a $500 million investment, said Rodvik. The utility’s Clean Energy Plan is a mixture of natural gas, wind and solar energy, Rodvik said.

“It’s a mixed portfolio to make sure we can meet the needs of (a growing state) and keep the rates as low as possible,” he said.

Saturday’s load is one massive turbine. “If you’ve ever seen fighter jets’ turbine at the back, that’s essentially what it is,” Rodvik explained

The crew from Mammoet cafefully checked and double checked each detail of the transport to make sure everything was good to go, from pumping up each of the 332 tires to making sure the computerized capabilities were functioning properly. They moved the large turbine, made by G.E. and transported from New York, from the train tracks to their specialized transport truck in Loveland.

And each of the 13 will have a role in moving it from Loveland to Platteville.

“It’ll take us a few hours to take a few corners and get out of town,” said Jake Moore, one of the crew from Mammoet.

The heavy hauling company is involved in moving things all across the world. Members of the moving crew in Loveland talked about transporting 9.5 million-pound concrete flooring for a dry dock in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to moving four 877 metric ton autoclaves for a gold mining operation in the Dominican Republic. Fort the latter job, Whitey Walker described trucks with 480 total tires, hauling a four separate 37-foot-tall loads through the jungle to their final destination.

“If it was humanly possible to move the world — if it was possible — our equipment could do it,” said Moore.

Sharla Steinman contributed to this report.