385,000-Pound Machine Press To Pass Through Cartersville

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A 385,000-pound machine press entered Georgia via Interstate 20 westbound on Thursday and will begin a tactical route to the city of White on Monday, the state Department of Transportation.

The 200-foot long, 18-foot wide and 14-foot tall rig configuration, which belongs to Guy M. Turner, will begin its trek to Bartow County at 8 p.m. July 27.

The planned movement and route has been approved by GDOT, the state agency said.

Metro Atlanta traffic will be slow or even stopped at some points due to the excessive size of the load. Two Georgia State Patrol officers with blue lights and marked cars will be accompanying the load to pace traffic, when so warranted by the traffic control.

The mega load will also feature moving message boards warning of traffic interruptions at key bridges and/or intersections. Normal travel speed is 45 mph but slows to 5 mph when crossing certain bridge structures. Narrow bridge locations will require escorts to restrict the passing of other vehicles while the permit vehicle is crossing.

The mega load will proceed from the Columbia County scales the evening of Monday, July 27. The carrier will then continue down I-20 westbound through Dekalb County and continue on I-75 northbound through Fulton and Cobb counties.

The mega load will travel this route due to the size and weight of the machine press, as to avoid all bridge, utilities and traffic signal clearance issues, GDOT added.

The final destination is voestalpine Automotive Body Parts Inc., which is located on Voestalpine Drive in Bartow County. The site is located off Cass-White Road east of Interstate 75.

Motorists should exercise extreme caution in its vicinity and follow instructions from the law enforcement escort.

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