Medina wants compensation to allow 375,000-pound load through village

Transformer to be offloaded from railroad in Medina, then headed to solar facility in Elba

Photo by Ginny Kropf: One of two giant transformers makes its way down Park Avenue in Medina on Oct. 6, 2021 after leaving the railroad at the Pickle Factory. The 800,000-pound transformer was taken to a new switching station on Route 93 in the Town of Royalton in a project by National Grid and the New York State Power Authority.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board wants some compensation to have a heavy load move through the village.

The village was notified by Bay Crane Projects that it wants to off load a 375,035-pound transformer from the railroad. It would go on North Avenue, a small part of Gwinn Street, and then down South Main Street (Route 63). From there it goes down Lewiston Road to its destination at 6368 Graham Rd. in Elba.

The transformer would travel on a trailer weighing 152,965, bringing the total weight to about 528,000 pounds.

Village Board members said they were concerned the load could damage village streets. They are going to ask Bay Crane Projects for money, with the starting offer at $250,000. Bay Crane is managing the delivery of the transformer for Hecate Energy, which is building a 500-megawatt solar project over 2,500 acres in Elba and Oakfield.

Medina village officials said the transformer should be off loaded in Genesee County, where the municipalities are to receive about $73 million in revenue for the project over 30 years. Medina board members said the village should get some revenue having the transformer on village streets causing some wear and tear, and for the disruption to traffic.

“Why are we the ones being used for this?” Mayor Marguerite Sherman asked during Monday’s board meeting.

A heavier load went through the village on Oct. 6, 2021 when two transformers went from the Pickle Factory on Park Avenue on their way to Royalton. Those loads were about 800,000 pounds each.

Jason Watts, the village Department of Public Works superintendent, said the loads in 2021 didn’t damage village streets. The trailers had more than a dozen axles to help to spread out the load.

Watts said there is minimal impact on his department with the load headed to Elba because the Bay Crane Projects has arranged the details with escorts for the trip, which will go about 10 miles per hour.

Watts said if the streets are damaged, resurfacing could cost about $50,000.

Village attorney Matt Brooks said Medina should consider a “reasonable fee” for the instances when extremely heavy loads go through Medina. Brooks said it could be difficult to determine that amount.

Watts said he would reach out to highway associations to see if other municipalities have fees for allowing the loads that far exceed the weight limits on village streets.

Gabrielle Barone, the vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, urged Medina to seek some funding for use of village streets.

“There should be a fee,” she said. “There is a strain on your local resources and you should be compensated.”

Sherman said she didn’t receive a specific date for when the transformer would arrive in the area. She believes Bay Crane Projects is trying to work out all the details to get it done in July.