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A delivery of oversized equipment to an under-construction solar farm may cause traffic delays in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties on Monday, March 27.

A new AES Corporation news release noted that the oversized load transfer, originally scheduled for Friday, March 24, is scheduled to take place during the morning and afternoon of March 27. This schedule, which is intended to avoid peak traffic hours, is subject to change based on rail schedules.

Isle of Wight and Surry county officials approved the 240-megawatt Cavalier Solar farm in 2021 to span 1,750 acres across the Isle of Wight-Surry border.

AES Corp., the developer of the Cavalier project, issued a press release Wednesday stating an oversized load escorted by Virginia State Police will travel east down Route 460 from the town of Ivor across the Southampton-Isle of Wight border.

The convoy will move slower than regular traffic during the 30-mile, five-hour journey to the Cavalier project site. From Zuni, the convoy will turn north onto a series of rural roads through Isle of Wight. The specific roads impacted include state routes 644, 649, 646, 620, 680, 681, 627, 621 and 626.

The Virginia Department of Transportation-approved route differs from the regular approved route for other truck traffic to the Cavalier site. The oversized equipment route is designed to avoid roads and bridges unable to accommodate the convoy’s weight or width.

“We will be transporting a large transformer in Southampton and Isle of Wight counties to the Cavalier Solar project site later this week,” said Greg Creswell, senior development manager for AES. “We’re working closely with VDOT to make sure this move is done safely and with minimum impact on local traffic and residents. We’ll be providing continuing updates on timing and route.”

More information on the Cavalier project and the oversized equipment route is available at www.aes.com/cavalier-solar-project.