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Photo and text from the Lewiston Morning Tribune:<br>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lmtribune.com/breaking-news/1532/">http://www.lmtribune.com/breaking-news/1532/</a><br>
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<p class="date">November 8, 2010, 12:23 pm</p>
<p style="margin-left: 5px;">Crews were working on two of four
ConocoPhillips loads Monday morning,
fueling speculation that the Idaho Transportation Department is
readying permits for the megaloads sitting at the Port of Lewiston.<br>
<br>
The crews could be seen working atop large transport assemblies that
were attached to semi-tractors in the port�s main container yard.<br>
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ITD spokesman Jeff Stratten said Monday morning he doesn�t anticipate
his agency taking any action on the permits Monday. <br>
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�Nothing�s imminent,� said John Roper, a spokesman for ConocoPhillips
in Houston. �We�re still in a wait-and-see mode.� <br>
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One week ago, the Idaho Supreme Court reversed a lower-court decision
that revoked permits ITD issued for the four ConocoPhillips drums,
which are bound for a Billings, Mont., refinery. <br>
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The cargo, which was barged to Lewiston from Japan, would consume two
lanes of traffic as it travels across Idaho to the Montana border in a
journey that�s expected to take four days. <br>
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ITD has promised it will put a number of conditions on the loads such
as requiring they travel only at night, pull over every 15 minutes to
allow traffic to pass and be escorted by Idaho State Police troopers.
The off-duty officers would be paid by the oil company. <br>
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People from throughout the nation are watching what happens with great
interest. The ConocoPhillips loads will be the heaviest to ever travel
U.S. Highway 12, a narrow, curvy road in a canyon that parallels
federally designated wild and scenic rivers. <br>
<br>
Imperial Oil has requested permission from ITD to use the same route
for more than 200 loads of a similar size in the next year. Sixteen
shipments of the Korean-made equipment have already been barged to the
Port of Lewiston where they�re waiting for an ITD decision on permits. <br>
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Visit LMTribune.com or see Tuesday's Lewiston Tribune for more on this
story. </p>
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