Steel super load will cause super-slow traffic during travel through Westmoreland, Allegheny

A 150-ton steel cone destined for a Braddock steel plant is expected to halt and delay traffic Tuesday as it winds its way along several major traffic arteries in the region, including Route 22 in Westmoreland County and routes 48 and 130 in Allegheny County.

The super load is 160 feet long and nearly 28 feet wide, according to PennDOT. It will take up two highway lanes as it travels from Columbiana County, Ohio, to the U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock.

Hauled by Aliquippa-based Southern Pines Trucking, the cone is making a return trip, reversing a route taken in midsummer 2023. That’s when it headed to Columbiana County’s Reichard Industries, a steel mill service and supply company.

The load will head into Pennsylvania on Interstate 80, passing through Mercer, Venango, Butler, Clarion and Jefferson counties. It then will turn south along routes 36, 436 and 119 into Indiana County before turning west on Route 22 through Westmoreland County.

In Allegheny County, the cone will head south on Route 48 and west on Route 120, continuing along the Tri-Boro Expressway and Braddock Avenue to the Thomson plant.

The cone entourage will include several vehicles as well as a state police escort along some stretches, according to Tina Gibbs, spokesperson for Indiana County-based PennDOT District 10.

“The super load will move as a rolling slowdown,” at about 25 to 30 mph or slower, she said.

“Use alternate routes when possible,” she advised.