By David F. Rooney
Plans to move that giant turbine bound for the Revelstoke Dam’s Unit 5 project from Shelter Bay were put on hold Friday because the specialized transport truck that will carry it to its final destination had not yet arrived.
Jennifer Walker-Larsen, BC Hydro’s stakeholder engagement advisor, said the transport truck had not yet arrived from from San Francisco. It could come later this week, she said.
In fact, when it arrives it will do so in pieces.
“It comes in several pieces and and has to be assembled on site before it can carry the turbine,” she said, adding that the over-size transport has 100 wheels to spread the weight of the 188-tonne turbine.
The project crew has so far done everything possible to ensure its safe delivery, including widening the tunnel that leads to the dam off Westside Road.
The crew used a full-size wooden mock-up of the turbine to be certain the tunnel was wide enough to accommodate the seven-metre wide piece of stainless steel.
“This is very large and very, very heavy,” Walker-Larsen said. “Someone calculated that it weighs as much as 32 African elephants.”
She said that when the device is finally loaded onto its transport it will be driven from Shelter Bay to the dam between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.
The Revelstoke Current will keep people posted regarding the delivery schedule. In the meantime, here’s a view of the turbine with Walker-Larsen providing a sense of scale.
