House-sized transformer travelling through Kent to Sellindge
00:01, 18 October 2017
A transformer the size of a house is due to make its way through Kent.
The large load, which weighs in at 318 tonnes, is estimated to take 10 hours to get from the Port of Dover to an electricity converter station in Sellindge.
The electricity transformer, which will make power from the substation suitable for use in homes, is limited to going at a top speed of 12mph.
The load will leave the Port of Dover on Tuesday, October 24, at 9pm on a specialist vehicle, which measures in at 87 metres long and 5.8 metres wide.
It is then scheduled to travel along the A20 to the Alkham Valley Road junction (A260 – Canterbury Road), onto the A259 to get onto the M20 at junction 13.
It will leave the M20 at junction nine and re-join it to travel back to junction 10. It has to go back on itself because of weight restrictions at the junction.
The load will then leave the M20 at junction 10, travelling along the A20 and Church Lane before reaching the Sellindge electricity converter station.
It will then arrive at around 7am on Wednesday, October 25.
The load will be flanked by outriders from Kent Police and it's so big that it needs two trucks, one at the back and one at the front, to propel it.
National Grid's project engineer James Sheridan said: "It's our job to connect people to the energy they use and this delivery is part of that process.
"Once operational the transformer will change the voltage of electricity so it can be transported along local power lines and delivered to homes, businesses and community facilities.
"We'll do all we can to make sure this delivery goes as smoothly as possible.
"If people could please avoid parking on the route - particularly on narrow areas - it will ensure we get the transformer from the Port of Dover to Sellindge converter station as quickly and efficiently as possible."