PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — Drivers should expect short delays Wednesday morning, Nov. 4, when a 523,000-pound power transformer sets out on a roughly 127-mile “super load” trip from a dock site near Manchester in Adams County, through Portsmouth and Piketon, to a site on U.S. 68 near the Clinton County and Brown County line, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. In an update reported Tuesday evening by J News Network, ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning said the departure time has been moved up to 7 a.m. Wednesday — two hours earlier than first announced.
The transformer measures 230 feet long, 12 feet 10 inches wide and 18 feet 6 inches tall, ODOT said, according to both J News Network and the Scioto Valley Guardian. The Scioto Valley Guardian reported that the transformer will be escorted by ODOT and the Ohio State Highway Patrol for the duration of the trip, and that motorists along the route should expect short-term delays while it moves through on Wednesday.
The announced route, released by ODOT in its public announcement Monday and reported by both outlets, takes the load east on U.S. 52 to West Portsmouth, then follows Ohio Route 239 and U.S. 52 into Portsmouth before turning north on U.S. 23 toward Piketon. From Piketon, the load continues west on Ohio Route 32 and then north on U.S. 68 toward its destination. For Scioto County drivers, the heaviest impact comes early, as the convoy crosses West Portsmouth and Portsmouth and starts up the U.S. 23 corridor during the morning.
The timing has shifted as plans firmed up. The Scioto Valley Guardian first confirmed the transport on Oct. 29, after weeks of tentative planning, drawing on the Portsmouth city government, the Scioto County Emergency Management Agency, the Portsmouth Police Department and ODOT. Its Tuesday morning, Nov. 3 update reported a 9 a.m. Wednesday start, attributed to ODOT Press Secretary Matt Brunning. By Tuesday evening, J News Network reported the newer word from ODOT: departure had been moved up to 7 a.m. Drivers should go by the later, 7 a.m. update.
Southern Ohio drivers have seen this before, on the same roads. Both outlets reported, citing ODOT, that the first part of Wednesday’s trip follows the same path several super loads used in 2024, and that this move is not expected to be as disruptive as the largest of those earlier transports. In its 2024 announcements, ODOT said nearly two dozen extremely large loads would travel from the Ohio River dock near Manchester to New Albany and Hebron, most associated with the future Intel semiconductor facilities, some reaching 900,000 pounds and taking eight to 15 days to arrive.
Wednesday’s transformer is a different kind of move. At 523,000 pounds it is well under those roughly 900,000-pound giants, and its destination is not Central Ohio but a site on U.S. 68 near the Clinton-Brown county line, according to ODOT’s announcement as reported by J News Network and the Scioto Valley Guardian. Neither report said what facility the transformer will serve there, and NewsForce247 is not assuming one. What is confirmed is the cargo — a power transformer — and the full route it will travel to get there.
Moves like this do not happen on a standard trucking permit. The Scioto Valley Guardian explained, citing state transportation officials, that oversize and super load transports require special state permits because they exceed Ohio’s standard limits for vehicle width, height or weight, that permits can be revoked if road, weather or traffic conditions make a route unsafe, and that large loads are typically escorted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. That is why Wednesday’s schedule should be treated as firm but condition-dependent.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on. Confirmed, from ODOT through both outlets: the cargo, weight and dimensions above; the roughly 127-mile trip from near Manchester to U.S. 68 near the Clinton-Brown county line; the route via U.S. 52, Ohio 239, Portsmouth, U.S. 23 to Piketon, Ohio 32 and U.S. 68; the 7 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4 departure; and short delays under ODOT and Highway Patrol escort. Still waiting on: a published arrival time, community-by-community timing for Portsmouth and Piketon, and word on what facility the transformer will serve.
For residents along the corridor, the practical takeaway is to allow extra time Wednesday morning on any trip crossing the route, especially U.S. 52 through West Portsmouth and Portsmouth and U.S. 23 north toward Piketon. In its 2024 guidance, ODOT noted emergency traffic can get around its escorted rolling moves with minimal delay because each load travels with several Highway Patrol troopers — the escort pattern the Scioto Valley Guardian reported for Wednesday.
What happens next is the move itself. The transformer is scheduled to leave the dock site near Manchester at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, under ODOT and Ohio State Highway Patrol escort, and travel the announced route through Portsmouth and Piketon toward U.S. 68. If road, weather or traffic conditions force a change, the special-permit rules described by the Scioto Valley Guardian allow the move to be delayed, and ODOT’s practice in past super load moves has been to issue updated advisories. NewsForce247 will follow the transport Wednesday and update this story if the schedule or route changes.
Photo: Vasiliymeshko, CC BY