Massive nighttime freight movement through Illawarra

Transport for NSW Vision Alert

27 May 2022

A massive cross-agency effort overnight saw one of the biggest oversize and over mass movements ever on New South Wales roads.

An enormous more than 370 tonne gas turbine was transferred 18 kilometres from Port Kembla to the site of EnergyAustralia’s new Tallawarra B Project at Yallah.

With a total combined mass of nearly 730 tonnes and length of 112 metres, the transfer was one of the biggest movements of its kind in the state.

•                Tallawarra B Project will deliver Australia’s first net zero emissions hydrogen and gas capable power plant, with direct carbon emissions from the project offset over its operational life. It will deliver reliable power to an additional 150,000 NSW homes.

•                Transport for NSW facilitated the massive move with Regional Customer Network Coordination, Freight and Traffic Management Centre teams, working with NSW Police, heavy lift logistics contractors Lampson, and traffic control provider Traffic Logistics.

•                Sections of roads including the M1 Princes Motorway, Princes Highway, Five Islands Road and Springhill Road were temporarily closed for the convoy.

•                The complicated six-hour operation in the early hours of Friday morning (27 May) required traffic be contraflowed along sections of Springhill and Five Islands roads.

•                The hefty load had to be lowered at sections on along the route to fit under road and train bridges along Springhill Road and the M1 before being raised back up to continue at travelling height.

•                Size of the turbine is approximately 11x5x5 metres.

•                Weight was disbursed across two trailers, with two trucks pulling, and two more pushing the turbine on its journey.

•                This was the first of three transfer operations, with a 365 tonne generator and 250 tonne transformer also to be transferred to the EnergyAustralia site near Lake Illawarra before the end of 2022.

•                The Tallawarra B project will be ready for the summer of 2023-24, ahead of the scheduled retirement of the Liddell power station.

•                Its construction will contribute $300 million to the economy and create 250 jobs.