{"id":126690,"date":"2026-04-28T17:29:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T23:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mystery-truck-rolls-through-cortez-briefly-pausing-traffic-and-sparking-questions\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T12:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:35:32","slug":"mystery-truck-rolls-through-cortez-briefly-pausing-traffic-and-sparking-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mystery-truck-rolls-through-cortez-briefly-pausing-traffic-and-sparking-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery truck rolls through Cortez, briefly pausing traffic and sparking questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=d5de29ec-73ce-5444-8a02-05ba306aba1b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=d5de29ec-73ce-5444-8a02-05ba306aba1b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=800 800w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=d5de29ec-73ce-5444-8a02-05ba306aba1b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=d5de29ec-73ce-5444-8a02-05ba306aba1b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1800 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 2000px\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1431\" alt=\"An oversized specialized transportation vehicle moves slowly through downtown Cortez on Tuesday, drawing onlookers and briefly pausing Main Street traffic. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">An oversized specialized transportation vehicle moves slowly through downtown Cortez on Tuesday, drawing onlookers and briefly pausing Main Street traffic. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>A massive steel giant crept through downtown Cortez on Tuesday afternoon, halting traffic on West Main Street and sparking a simple, shared question among dozens of bewildered onlookers: What on Earth is that?<\/p>\n<p>The sight prompted a countywide text alert, inquiries to the Colorado Department of Transportation as crews repositioned traffic lights, and a response from the sheriff\u2019s office, which happened to be making an arrest on the same street for an unrelated matter.<\/p>\n<p>The hundreds-ton commercial ship, inching forward, paused at about 1 p.m. before turning and briefly heading the wrong direction.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=1aa49872-406b-5625-8237-1a3e7963a45e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=1aa49872-406b-5625-8237-1a3e7963a45e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=800 800w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=1aa49872-406b-5625-8237-1a3e7963a45e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=1aa49872-406b-5625-8237-1a3e7963a45e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1800 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 2000px\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" alt=\"Omega Morgan transports an empty industrial-grade vessel.The company\u2019s specialized transport division manages oversized loads, using one of the nation\u2019s largest 500-ton trailers to haul vessels, tanks and other industrial components manufactured across the country. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Omega Morgan transports an empty industrial-grade vessel.The company\u2019s specialized transport division manages oversized loads, using one of the nation\u2019s largest 500-ton trailers to haul vessels, tanks and other industrial components manufactured across the country. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>An answer to the collective question came later: The load was an empty vessel owned by Omega Morgan, a specialized heavy-hauler and private contractor, passing through en route to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lithiumamericas.com\/thacker-pass\/overview\/default.aspx\" id=\"link-4d4185fc1d1e8e44de6b15f2e42e87fe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thacker Pass lithium mine<\/a> near Winnemucca, Nevada.<\/p>\n<p>It is one of several large components moving through the region as part of a broader effort to build out infrastructure at the Thacker Pass Lithium Project.<\/p>\n<p>Located about 60 miles northwest of Winnemucca in northern Humboldt County, the mine is a source of sedimentary lithium used to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r-dz7OsGuck\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The site is considered one of the world\u2019s largest lithium deposits, according to the Nevada Division of Minerals. Some estimates suggest the mine could produce nearly 25% of the supply needed to meet growing demand for lithium-based energy storage, including rechargeable batteries and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Federal policies in the United States and other countries have increased the push away from internal combustion engines, raising the stakes for new mining projects.<\/p>\n<p>Several vehicles and components from across the country are traveling to the site, according to Kelly Johnson, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omegamorgan.com\/\" id=\"link-1c7dd4181a4e5f3328ee0497835c440b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Omega Morgan<\/a> employee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe got several parts being shipped there coming out of Texas, Wisconsin and other states and going to Nevada,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>Initial construction at the mine began in 2023, with completion targeted for 2027. The project faced years of scrutiny, including lawsuits from tribal nations, environmental groups and a rancher. Northern Paiute people inhabited parts of Nevada for thousands of years, and some tribal members asked U.S. courts to halt production.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuits claimed the area is a sacred site containing ancestral graves, that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management\u2019s environmental review was flawed, and that the project would harm wildlife and contaminate groundwater. A Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in 2023 against the environmental and tribal plaintiffs, allowing the project to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>The project is owned by Canadian corporation Lithium Americas, with <a href=\"https:\/\/lithiumamericas.com\/news\/news-details\/2024\/Lithium-Americas-Announces-Closing-of-Thacker-Pass-Joint-Venture-with-General-Motors\/default.aspx\" id=\"link-314f9c38033e98b24c1a8bae60b7daf7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">joint investment from General Motors<\/a>, and is moving forward in part with a $2.26 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.<\/p>\n<p>A few dozen spectators lingered on sidewalks Tuesday, filming videos and sharing speculation. By late afternoon, the oversized load rolled out of view and downtown traffic returned to normal.<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-98907bcfd31e30a39855f8e435ce491b\"><a href=\"mailto:awatson@the-journal.com\">awatson@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>tied to Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[1820,28,29,1829,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-126690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-dh-trueanthem","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-tcr-trueanthem","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126690"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128377,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126690\/revisions\/128377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126690"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=126690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}