Most of us think getting a sofa bed into the basement is a big project. But, a Barrie business has a much bigger moving project to contend with.

Jebco is shipping the largest structure ever to be moved out of the city, and the final preparations were made today before the super structure was sent on its cross country delivery.

“It’s very precious cargo, a lot of materials and man hours,” says project manager Tara Favretto.

It took eight weeks to build the 55,000-pound bridge that is destined for the oil sands in Fort McMurray, AB.

“It will mount over a piece of processing equipment. It will extend from one side to the other and provide access to the operating mechanism,” says John Mooradian, operations manager.

At more than 38 meters long, it’s the longest structure to be shipped from Barrie's Jebco manufacturing plant. But before it can be delivered to the oil sands, its first stop will be in Saskatoon where more additions will be made by a separate company.

“The end of the bridge is incomplete. There will be a monorail, which will haul heavy equipment from one end to the other,” says Mooradian.

Rigging cargo for a journey like this isn't any easy task. It took a team of seven people more than six hours to load the bridge onto two tandem trailers.

“The bridge is the trailer. Obviously the safe precautions are making sure everything is secured with the crane and the fail safes and centering it on the truck to make sure its legal for the road,” says Favretto.

Bart Harder will be delivering the mega bridge to Saskatoon. He's been hauling super structures like this for a decade and says every precaution must be taken, including measuring the height and width of the load and carefully mapping out the route.

“We won't travel more than 90 kilometers per hour,” he says. “The biggest concern is height and you have to be aware of everything above you.”

There are specific hours and route plans, and the cargo can only travel during the day. It’s a big move that is expected to begin tomorrow.

Saskatoon is about a 28 hour drive from Barrie. It will take much longer to deliver this super structure. The trip is expected to take a week.