It was built 6,000 miles away in Thailand and carried by ship to the Port of Liverpool before being transferred to a barge for the short trip across the River Mersey, through the locks into the Manchester Ship Canal and on to a holding bay near National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port.

placeholder image — It was built 6,000 miles away in Thailand and carried by ship to the Port of Liverpool before being transferred to a barge for the short trip across the River Mersey, through the locks into the Manchester Ship Canal and on to a holding bay near National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port.

In Pictures: Widest load on British roads?

Published 14th Aug 2022, 13:16 GMT

Updated 14th Aug 2022, 13:25 GMT

Part of the M53 in Cheshire was closed on Saturday night to accommodate what is thought to be one of the biggest objects to be moved on a UK road.

The structure is part of a £45 million furnace that is being installed at Essar’s Stanlow oil refinery and will be the first capable of running entirely on hydrogen.

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Gordon Beattie, National Highways’ abnormal loads manager for the North West, said: “There are abnormal loads and there are abnormal loads – and this one will completely fill the motorway.

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“The module will be mounted on two wheeled platforms – one on each carriageway – and will look a bit like the bridge of a container ship gliding down the motorway.”

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Gallery

In Pictures: Widest load on British roads?

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