Access to the southbound lanes of State Road 37 will be severely limited Thursday, according to a release from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
INDOT officials are suggesting drivers avoid traveling southbound on 37 between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday, as a jumbo transformer will be in transit from Martinsville, Indiana, to Bloomington.
The transformer is scheduled for delivery in the early afternoon to Hoosier Energy’s Bloomington Transmission Substation.
The 13-mile journey is estimated to take around 3.5 hours, as the transformer will be transported at 10 mph and will occupy both southbound lanes of State Road 37.
The Hoosier Energy Transformer measures 16 feet high, 13 feet wide and 28 feet long, according to the INDOT release.
It will enter State Road 37 at the State Road 44 intersection in Martinsville and is expected to block all lanes of intersection traffic for about 15 minutes.
The transformer, which weighs in at 200 tons, will be pushed and pulled by semi-tractors on a trailer weighing 600,000 pounds, according to the release. It will receive an Indiana State Police escort.
On Friday traffic will again be slowed when the transformer is moved to Hoosier Energy’s substation on Crossover Road, according to the release. Motorists should expect a 30-minute delay on State Road 37 on Friday.
The second move will take place between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., according to a press release from Hoosier News.
INDOT recommends in its release two alternative routes to State Road 37 Thursday: using State Road 67 from Martinsville to Spencer, then State Road 46 from Spencer to Bloomington; or Old State Road 37, south of Martinsville, then State Road 45/46 to Bloomington.
The transformer, according to the Hoosier News release, is essential in central Indiana for reliable power delivery.
It is used to raise and lower voltage and will be paramount in the central Indiana bulk electric system.
A state-issued permit cleared the way for this move.
Anicka Slachta
