'Superload' bound for Lake Munmorah: the journey of a giant transformer

The transformer, bound for the Waratah Super Battery in Colongra, will depart Wodonga on Wednesday, January 31, at 10pm.

Tony Bullivant, a retired trucker from Lavington, marvelled at the scale of the operation.

"It's a mammoth job," he said.

"When I used to work for a trucking company, I saw big logs dragged out of the bush measuring 10 feet wide, but they are nothing compared to this.

"To push something like this up a hill, even just up the slope on the Hume Highway, would take an enormous amount of power."

Despite the load spanning the length of a football field, the transformer being transported is only 8 metres long, 4.65 metres high and weighs 170 tonnes.

Vaso May, commercial manager at ODSL (the company transporting the load), said a beam set, which accounts for most of the load's size, is needed to distribute the weight evenly and lower the height.

"The purpose of the beam is to create a carrier that is a lot closer to the road surface," she said.

"All of the transport equipment that can handle that kind of weight has got a minimum height of about a metre.

"So one metre of trailer plus 4.65 metres of a transformer is too high to get under the overheads.

"These beams give us a much lower height while we are travelling."

Mrs May said the most complex part of the project was navigating through Melbourne, where the load started its journey on Saturday night.

"During the trip, we employ hundreds of traffic control staff through subcontractors, and we cross to the wrong side of the road quite regularly," she said.

"In the city centre particularly, we remove things like light poles, traffic lights, signs, guardrails, and so on.

"We deal with trains and tram authorities to lift wires as well - it's very complicated."

Mrs May hopes the interest sparked by the superload will inspire young people to pursue careers in transport.

"We're like a lot of other industries where we have a staff shortage and an ageing workforce," she said.

"So this sort of transport and the profile of it will hopefully encourage young people to start to get into transport.

"There are plenty of opportunities."

For the most up-to-date traffic information, individuals can download the Live Traffic NSW App, visit livetraffic.com, or contact 132 701.