“Super Load” Reaches Eastman Chemical Site in Longview

LONGVIEW (AP/STAFF) — The biggest shipment ever received at the Port of Caddo-Bossier in Louisiana has reached its destination, a Gregg County chemical plant. An official with Eastman Chemical Company says the 303-ton piece of equipment arrived Thursday afternoon in Longview. The so-called “cold box” was trucked from Shreveport in a journey that began last Friday. Spokeswoman Kristin Parker says a cold box is a collection of heat exchangers inside an insulated box. The unit was made in Asia and hauled by barge from the Port of New Orleans to Shreveport, via the Mississippi River and the Red River. Parker says a second shipment is expected to arrive next week. Eastman is based in Kingsport, Tennessee.

After a delay to get power lines shut off, the convoy pulled out of its parking spot alongside State Highway 149 at 7:30yesterday morning to start the approximate eight-mile journey to the plant. Electric and other utility companies pushed ahead of the 275-foot long, 18-foot wide, 24-foot high, and 611,000-pound transport to remove road blocks. Law enforcement and TxDOT provided traffic control moving motorists to one lane, on the shoulder, or totally off the road as was required for crossing the Sabine River Bridge.

Moving from one side of the roadway to the other to avoid hitting traffic signals that couldn’t be moved was tedious but the biggest challenge was getting around a sign bridge that stretches across State Highway 149 near Walmart. Because it couldn’t fit under the sign, it had to go around it slowly and carefully, squeezing between the sign post and buildings. Several steel posts and other objects also had to be uprooted. It slowly and successfully navigated a final hurdle, the Interstate Highway20/Eastman Road intersection where traffic signals were swung around to allow access to the on ramp. Then came its final mile; a very slow, straight, hilly drive on the I-20 South Service Road/Callahan Road, followed by a right turn onto Eastman Road, and a right turn into the plant.

It finished the eight-mile trip safely at 10:30am, three hours after hitting the road. Throughout the drive, motorists delayed by the convoy, and onlookers lining State Highway 149, didn’t seem to mind it too much, opting to take pictures.

“Super Load” Part 2 will transport a 203-foot long reflex drum to Eastman Chemical. It could start moving as soon as August 1. It is expected to travel a different route to reach the plant.