Berard engineers 900-mile boiler transport on land and water

With the destination unsuitable for truck delivery and the origin lacking access to a navigable waterway, a creative transport solution was required.

Berard Transportation was tasked with moving three boiler sections from Abilene, Texas, USA, to a refinery near New Orleans, Louisana, USA. With the destination unsuitable for truck delivery and the origin lacking access to a navigable waterway, a creative transport solution was required. Berard’s project managers and engineers devised a plan to haul the cargo by road to a barge dock near Houston. There, crews used self propelled modular transporter (SPMT) to roll the units onto Berard’s BTI 1945 deck barge, which traveled via inland waterways to a rarely used barge site just three miles from the refinery.

The ultra heavy components of the boiler included a 141,000 pound superheater, a 406,000 pound HP evaporator and a 300,000-pound LP evaporator.

Detailed assessments
Ensuring a successful roll-off required copious site assessments, depth surveys and logistical planning. The three boiler components, included a superheater that weighed 141,000 pounds (64 tonnes) and measured 35 feet 3 inches long by 10 feet 7 inches wide by 15 feet 10 inches high 10.7x3.2x4.8 metres).

The super heater was transported using a Trail King 13-axle steerable lowboy rig, a 12-line Goldhofer PST/SL-E for barge roll-on, the BTI 1945 deck barge, and a 12-axle Goldhofer THP/SL trailer. The HP evaporator weighed 406,000 pounds (184 tonnes) and measured 37 feet 6 inches long by 23 feet 6 inches wide by 13 feet 2 inches high (11.4x7.2x4 metres).

Transport equipment included a 14-axle line Faymonville DualMax platform trailer, a 12-line Goldhofer PST/SL-E for barge roll-on, the BTI 1945 deck barge, and a 12-axle Goldhofer THP/SL trailer. The LP evaporator weighed 300,000 pounds (136 tonnes) and measured 36 feet 5 inches long, 20 feet 1 inch wide and 12 feet 9 inches high (11x6x3.9 metres). Hauling equipment included a 12-axle line Faymonville DualMax platform trailer, a 12-line Goldhofer PST/SL-E for barge roll-on, the BTI 1945 deck barge, and a 12-axle Goldhofer THP/SL trailer.

Berard’s project managers and engineers devised a plan to haul the cargo by road to a barge dock near Houston. There, Berard crews used SPMTs to roll the units onto the Berard BTI 1945 deck barge. The barge then traveled via inland waterways to a rarely used barge site just three miles from the refinery.

“The transportation of the evaporators required meticulous planning due to the combined width of the cargo and the length of the transport vehicle,” said Brett Berard. “The nearly 500-mile [810 km] journey from the origin to the barge dock was carefully coordinated to ensure a smooth and efficient move. Upon arrival at the barge dock, Berard project managers collaborated with local marine businesses to load the cargo onto the deck barge with minimal disruption to channel traffic.”

Final approach
For the final approach to the barge roll-off site, Berard engineers conducted a multi-beam depth survey, mapping the last three miles of the route along a seldom-used fishing channel. The roll-off dock, a former industrial facility, was surveyed and analyzed by Berard engineers.

The Texas route spanned 490 miles for the superheater and the two evaporator sections, transported on the same trailer in two separate trips. The barge then traveled 400 miles via inland waterways before docking, roll off and making the final three-mile trek in Louisiana.