Highway Hulk Moves Through Allendale, Barnwell Counties

Allendale County, SC—For Veronica Roberts, it has to be the biggest thing ever to come through Ulmer, South Carolina. “I’ve never seen anything like that before, wow, in this small country, it’s amazing, it looks like a parade,” she said while snapping pictures with her phone.

No marching bands, but a giant generator being hauled ever so slowly over the highways and back roads of the Palmetto State. It’s really something to see, and see again.

“I ain’t never seen anything like that before I saw it yesterday I saw it last night I saw it again and I saw it so many times,” said Marie Badger, of Allendale County.

It’s not every day you see a nearly 2 million pound generator moving down a highway at somewhere between 5 and 20 miles per hour. It’s being transported from a port on the South Carolina coast to a power plant near Gaffney, North Carolina.

It’s considered the biggest thing ever to be transported on South Carolina highways. Blink, don’t worry, it was hard to miss.

“No, you wouldn’t miss it, you could go to sleep and catch it coming through,” said Allendale County Chief Deputy Charles Rowell, who was helping escort the generator.

But, nobody’s sleeping on this job; this moving crew is dealing with a 300-foot trailer with two big rigs pulling, and two big rigs pushing.

You’ve heard of an 18-wheeler, how about a 576-wheeler, that’s how many ties are between the generator and the road.

Perry Harley, of Barnwell, South Carolina was watching. I asked if he wanted to join up and ride along.

“####, no it would be boring,” he said with a laugh.

It blocked roads, and kept law enforcement on its toes, a pain for some, but most folks saw this as big fun, more than a big bother.

“For them, it was exciting, it was a little bit more strategic for us. I’m just glad it’s gone,” said Allendale County Sheriff Tom Carter, as the generator and army of support vehicles rolled into Barnwell County.

Gone, yes, but not very far, and certainly not forgotten.

The trip is expected to take 30 days to complete. The company is covering the expenses of the counties along the route that assisted in the move.