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Sunny to partly cloudy. High near 85F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy. Low 59F. Winds light and variable.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A large condenser, bound for the Port of Albany, moves slowly under traffic lights at Cauterskill Road in Catskill.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media Crews lift traffic lights at Cauterskill Road in Catskill, so a 17 foot tall load can pass underneath.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A tractor trailer, three times the normal length, hauls a 200,000 pound condenser to the Port of Albany on Thursday morning in Catskill.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A caravan of utility vegicles escort a large condenser to the Port of Albany. The caravan began at the rest area on Route 23 in Leeds.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A caravan to escort a large condenser to the Port of Albany, prepares to leave the rest area on Route 23 in Leeds on Thursday.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A large condenser, bound for the Port of Albany, moves slowly under traffic lights at Cauterskill Road in Catskill.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media Crews lift traffic lights at Cauterskill Road in Catskill, so a 17 foot tall load can pass underneath.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A tractor trailer, three times the normal length, hauls a 200,000 pound condenser to the Port of Albany on Thursday morning in Catskill.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A caravan of utility vegicles escort a large condenser to the Port of Albany. The caravan began at the rest area on Route 23 in Leeds.
Bill Williams/Columbia-Greene Media A caravan to escort a large condenser to the Port of Albany, prepares to leave the rest area on Route 23 in Leeds on Thursday.
A massive and heavy piece of equipment had a large escort as it made its way through Greene County on its way to the Port of Albany on Thursday.
Port of Albany CEO Rich Hendrick confirmed the equipment is one of four steam condensers that will be installed on the USS Enterprise, which is undergoing an overhaul to be recommissioned.
The condenser will be placed on a barge in Albany for shipment to the U.S. Naval Yard in Newport News, Virginia, Hendrick said.
The name Graham Manufacturing was displayed on the cover that surrounded the equipment.
Graham Manufacturing is located in western New York, in Batavia.
“The condenser had a several-day trek to get here,” Hendrick said. “The equipment originated in Batavia.”
Graham is a global company that designs, manufactures and sells critical, highly-engineered equipment for the defense, energy, chemical/petrochemical, aerospace, medical and technology industries.
The condenser is 17 feet tall, 17 feet wide, 226 feet long, and weighs close to 200,000 pounds, said Randy Ormerod, deputy director at Greene County Emergency Management. Hendrick confirmed those dimensions Thursday.
The giant steam condensers work on the same principle as a central air conditioner, Hendrick said. It circulates steam through the aircraft carrier’s system to help power the vessel.
The caravan that is assisting in moving the equipment arrived in Greene County on Monday night after a journey along Route 23 from the Oneonta area, Ormerod said.
Since Monday night, the condenser has been parked in a rest area on Route 23 east in Leeds.
The load was scheduled to start moving Thursday morning about 9 a.m. The caravan began its journey about 9:20.
State Police and utility trucks with long poles on them began driving east ahead of the rest of the trucks.
The long poles on the trucks were used to make sure that everything the equipment would pass under was at least 17 feet above the ground so the load would not hit anything.
The first stop was at the intersection with Cauterskill Road, where men in bucket trucks lifted traffic lights above 17 feet, so the large load could proceed safely under them.
Police also blocked side roads temporarily until the caravan had passed.
The truck that was carrying the equipment was about the size of three tractor trailers in length.
There were large traffic back ups when the load stopped at Cauterskill Road, and then again, as the caravan was attempting to turn left to get on Route 9W north.
The load was expected to move about 10 mph, according to police.
State Police posted warnings to motorists on social media, alerting them of the route that would be taken, and to expect delays.
Two police vehicles were positioned at the end of the caravan, to keep motorists from attempting to drive around the large load.
Once the caravan was on Route 9W, several stops had to be made along the way due to a few low-hanging traffic lights and power lines along the way.
Once in Albany County, the route included Glenmont Road and Route 144, with the final stop at the Port of Albany.
A shipment date for the first condenser has not been scheduled. The Port of Albany is expecting three more condensers to arrive at a later date, Hendrick said.
Managing editor Raymond Pignone contributed to this story.
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Wouldn't it make more sense to use the barge canal to transport things of this size and weight from western NY to the port of Albany??
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