BOISE (AP) - A federal judge has rejected a request to allow a General Electric Co. subsidiary to resume shipments of massive oil-field equipment on a scenic, two-lane highway in northern Idaho.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued the decision Thursday, handing environmentalists and Nez Perce tribal leaders another victory in the latest legal battle over the use of U.S. Highway 12 as a shipping route for the wide, heavy and long loads.

Last month, Winmill issued an injunction that essentially blocked the GE unit from hauling any more megaloads along the winding, two-lane roadway, which also passes through tribal lands and a federally designated Wild and Scenic River corridor.

But company attorneys asked the judge to reconsider his decision, arguing the initial ruling was fraught with errors and flaws. The company also restated claims that it stands to lose millions of dollars if the equipment - a 225-foot-long, 640,000-pound water evaporator - was unable to arrive at the tar sands project in Canada on time.

In his decision, Winmill said the costs of a delay are a risk the company took in light of previous litigation over megaload travel on the highway. The judge also concluded lifting the injunction could cause irreparable harm to the tribe and environmentalists opposed to making the highway, which traces the Lochsa and Clearwater rivers, a regular corridor for oversized loads.

"This is a win for all who cherish the aesthetic, spiritual and recreational values of the Lochsa and Clearwater Rivers," said Kevin Lewis, conservation director for Idaho Rivers United, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

Attorneys for the company did not immediately return messages left Thursday by The Associated Press.