A million-pound megaload has been rolling through Northern Idaho en route to Montana.

The shipment of oil refinery equipment destined for Calumet Specialty Products Partners in Great Falls went through Coeur d’Alene Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

The shipment then traveled 37 miles to Hope east of Sandpoint Thursday night and Friday morning.

“The trip went well,” said Adam Rush, Idaho Transportation Department public involvement coordinator. “There were no delays or mechanical problems. The amount of planning and preparation is helping things run smoothly.”

The shipment is being accompanied by pilot vehicles and flaggers. The pilot vehicles alert the transport vehicle of oncoming traffic so it can let traffic pass at the next nearest pullout. Vehicles encountering the megaload may experience delays as long as 15 minutes.

The megaload is due to pass through the Flathead Valley in the middle of next week.

The plan as of Friday is for the megaload to reach a staging area Wednesday, Aug. 20, at the weigh station on U.S. 2 west of Kalispell, according to Montana Motor Carrier Division Administrator Duane Williams.

The load then would travel through the Flathead Valley Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Aug. 21.

The path for the megaload would go on U.S. 2 into Kalispell, then turn north on Meridian Road and head up U.S. 93. It will head east on Montana 40 through Columbia Falls and proceed south on Montana 206. The next leg is on Montana 35, turning onto Montana 83 just before Bigfork.

The load will stage at milepost 77 on Montana 83 before the next leg, going down the Seeley-Swan Highway before turning on Montana 200 for its last segment to Great Falls.

The equipment being transported is the first of three slated pieces of a “hydrocracker,” a massive refinery machine used to process Canadian oil sands, to be moved through Montana.

In Montana, the permitted load is 21 feet, 1 inch wide and 16 feet, 9 inches tall and can be no more than 400 feet long.

The remaining two pieces of the hydrocracker will be transferred via Interstate 15.