Large load blocks traffic

A truck and a three-piece trailer -- 168 feet long -- blocked traffic Wednesday afternoon as it maneuvered the East B Street intersection in McCook onto South U.S. Highway 83. The humongous rig owned by McAfee Trucking Co. of Jeffersonville, Ind., and its super-wide load caused quite a stir. One curious on-looker commented, "That driver really has to know what he's doing," as the truck slipped right past light poles, traffic lights and oncoming traffic.

Tami McAfee of Jeffersonville Ind., the wife of Kyle McAfee who was in the last pickup in the "Wide Load" caravan, said late Wednesday afternoon the load is a compressor, traveling from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to Houston, where it will be put on a barge for shipment overseas.

Tami said the compressor itself is 45 feet long, 22 feet wide and 15 feet tall, and it weighs approximately 155,000 pounds.

"The width was our major concern," she said.

"Both the driver and the gentleman who steers the back six axles have to really know what they're doing," she said, explaining Kyle was operating the motor and levers that steer the tail-end of the rig around corners. Robert "Bob" McAfee, the driver, is her father-in-law.

She said McAfee Trucking has been in operation since 1971. It specializes in heavy and specialized service in the U.S. and Canada.