HELENA, Mont. (AP) - An Exxon Mobil subsidiary has changed tack after months of being snarled in a legal dispute over plans to haul oversized refinery equipment along scenic two-lane highways in Montana and Idaho to Canada.

Imperial Oil has applied to the Montana Department of Transportation for permits to transport about 300 smaller versions of the so-called megaloads to Alberta via interstates 90 and 15, transportation officials said Friday. That application would include all of the modules destined for the Kearl oil sands project, Imperial spokesman Pius Rolheiser said.

The company originally planned to ship the loads from the Port of Lewiston in Idaho, along U.S. 12 into Montana, then up Montana 200 and other two-lane roadways to the northern border. The proposed route was met with fierce opposition from residents, conservation groups and local governments. They said a proper study was not conducted on how the massive loads, which would slowly lumber at night along the historical roadway that follows a portion of Lewis and Clark's path, could impact the environment.