Boosting through Maricopa

Tom Wedel, a Maricopa resident for nearly five years, was on his way to visit his son in Chandler about 4 p.m. Thursday when the reason for backed-up traffic became quickly apparent.

A really big rocket booster.

Wedel said, “I whipped out my cellphone (camera). I couldn’t believe it, wondering, ‘What the heck is going on?’”

Dustin Krugel, public information officer with the Arizona Department of Transportation, said the heavy load was a rocket booster from NASA’s Cape Canaveral traveling from Florida to Edwards Air Force Base in California before going to a museum in Los Angeles.

The booster weighs 91 tons, is 166 feet long and nearly 14 feet wide, Krugel said.

Wedel caught the action as the booster was turning west onto Smith-Enke Road off State Route 347.

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