BAKER CITY — Motorists should expect nighttime delays of up to 20 minutes on Oregon Highway 86 — the Baker-Copperfield Highway — this week, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 15.

The travel impacts will occur between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. the following morning to accommodate a 16-foot-wide, 185-foot-long and 421,726-pound load of transformer equipment.

Delays are expected to run through Sept. 17.

The shipment will travel between 25 and 50 mph through Baker County, primarily on Highway 86. Motorists should watch for pilot cars, flaggers, traffic control crews and to plan extra travel time during this nighttime operation.

To evenly distribute the extreme weight of the shipment, it may move down the center of the roadway at times, depending on road width, taking up both travel lanes. Traffic will be stopped at regular intervals with pilot cars informing the movers when to pull over to allow oncoming vehicles and backed up traffic to pass.

The oversize load will begin its journey at the west end of Baker City and travel through town before connecting to the Baker-Copperfield Highway and heading east through Richland to the Idaho border. The equipment will leave Oregon at Copperfield.

The freight contains no hazardous materials, fuels or liquids.