From Nashik to Thiruvananthapuram: Mammoth truck covers 1,700km in 10 months.
A 74-tyre truck carrying machinery weighing 70 tonnes finally reached the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday 10 months after it began its journey from Maharashtra’s Nashik, around 1,700 km away, to the country’s premier research institute.
Usually, regular trucks cover the distance between Nashik and Thiruvananthapuram in five to seven days. The mammoth truck moved at a snail’s pace with each of the five states it journeyed through making special arrangements for it.
In some places potholed roads had to be repaired, trees cut and electric poles removed to allow the truck, carrying an aerospace autoclave, to move.
They began their journey on September 1 last year. Yadav said the machinery is 7.5 metres high and 7 metres wide. Since the chassis of the vehicle carrying the machinery had to be very strong, the truck almost covered the entire road at many places. “In some places, roads were widened and trees were cut to make way for it. And at two places, special iron girders were put to strengthen bridges,” he said.
I posted this here cos how our ICBMs like Agni 5&6 will manuver in our narrow roads . May be they will only assemble the missile when arrive at the launch site .