Take one 222-foot long storage tank, put it on a trailer with at least 56 tires, add two escort trucks, one local police officer, two Department of Transportation “T-car” officers and a crew of six. Stir them all together and put them on Highway 21. Throw in a right-hand turn on the city’s busiest intersection, followed by a trip southbound down the highway over several bridges and around a curve and you have all the ingredients for a very interesting Friday morning.
With less than 10 minutes notice, Belle Plaine Police were informed that the huge storage tank was being transported from Minnesota to its ultimate St. Louis destination. When the convoy reached the Seventh Avenue-13th Street intersection, it stopped as crew members took out their two-way radios and tape measures to ensure that the truck would be able to make the turn. The truck had three sets of dual tires on the back and the trailer had at least 56 tires to support the 20-foot wide load.
One of the crew members said the truck and trailer was probably worth between $1 million and $1.5 million. Total weight for the truck and cargo was estimated at about 500,000 pounds. This crew was based in Ohio, he said.
The truck made the turn at the intersection slowly on the first try. The convoy then had to wait for a passing train before proceeding south out of the city, as many local residents lined the streets to watch. The truck and trailer took up most of both lanes of traffic on Highway 21 outside of the city and proceeded at a very slow rate over both the Salt Creek and Iowa River bridges. It then inched around the curve onto Highway 212 on its way through Marengo and on south.
