Heads Up, Liberty Residents - Highways Are Closing Tonight!

Starting at 7pm:

Commuters and travelers beware: A 240-ton transformer will descend on the Northland, shutting down highways for a time on Thursday evening and Friday morning.

No, it's not a boy's "Transformers" toy come to life: Kansas City Power & Light is moving a transformer to help power the Kansas City area.

Moving it will require closing sections of several highways: Interstate 35, Interstate 435, Missouri Highway 152 and U.S. Highway 169. The work will close the roads for an unspecified amount of time starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, according to a release from theMissouri Department of Transportation.

The 480,000-pound power transformer will move from Liberty to a substation near Smithville. Crews will use two tractors and a 36-axle trailer to pull the load. The 18-foot-tall, 195-foot-long transformer will require crews to use opposite lanes and, at times, cross the median.

MoDOT will restrict highway access to establish median crossovers, adjust traffic signals and raise overhead utility lines. The transformer will start its move about 11 p.m. Thursday and should be done by 7 a.m. Friday, the release said. Edwards Moving & Rigging Inc., an oversized item transportation company from Shelbyville, Ky., will handle the move.

MoDOT expects I-35 from Highway 152 to Missouri Highway 291 will close for as long as an hour, and I-435 between Highway 152 and U.S. 169 could close for as long as four hours. Drivers can bypass the closings via detours along 152 and 169.

Yeah, it'll be a pain in the neck, but I'm kinda curious to check it out.  After all, how often do you have the chance to see a 36-axle trailer hauling something that weighs 480,000 pounds?