This post was updated at 5:15 p.m.
Snow has delayed a 450-ton shipment of oilfield equipment from moving into Idaho as it rumbles toward the tar sands oil development in Canada.
The company hauling the megaload had expected to cross the border from Vale, Ore., into Idaho on Friday night.
Spokeswoman Holly Zander says they will have to wait for better weather, and hope to try again Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the state of Idaho has issued a permit for the megaload to use highways crossing the southern part of the state on its way to Montana.
The equipment was manufactured in Portland, and carried by barge up the Columbia River to the Port of Umatilla, then loaded on a huge trailer.
Environmentalists have tried to block the shipment, contending tar-sands development will contribute to global warming.
Original post:
The Idaho Transportation Department has issued a permit for a company to move a megaload of refinery equipment across the state.
The agency issued the permit Friday to Omega Morgan and warned motorists to expect delays on southern and eastern Idaho highways as the 382-foot-long load heads for Montana on its way to tar sands in Canada.
Omega Morgan spokeswoman Holly Zander says the load is expected to leave Oregon and enter Idaho Friday night or Saturday morning near the Homedale area on State Highway 19.
The permit allows the load to travel between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Authorities say the load won't move on Christmas Day.
The nearly 1-million-pound shipment will cross 84 bridges in Idaho, all of which have been deemed adequate to hold the megaload. The route includes a short distance on Interstate 84 near Mountain Home. The route crosses into Montana at Lost Trail Pass.
Here's a map of the megaload's route.