Be Prepared, 300 Ton Oven Snakes Through Arkansas This Week

Thank goodness this massive piece of equipment isn't taking I-30 to get to its destination, because wherever it goes, the route has to be shut down for a while. This 600,000 lbs kiln is going to take up a lot of space during its journey through Louisiana and up through Southern Arkansas this week.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation and Arkansas Highway Police will be assisting in the transportation of this 300-ton piece of equipment along state highways from Crossett all the way up to Gum Springs, Arkansas.

Kiln getting ready to transport - The Arkadeplian YouTube

The piece of equipment requiring transport is a kiln furnace manufactured and shipped here from Italy and has arrived in the port of New Orleans. Its journey from Crossett to the Veolia Thermal Hazardous Waste Treatment Operation in Gum Springs is expected to take six days with a top speed of just 20 mph and taking up at least two lanes everywhere it goes, this is a slow process.

The equipment is being transported by Barnhart Crane and Rigging out of Memphis, Tennessee. It is scheduled to leave out of the Crossett Port Wednesday, May 10, arriving in Gum Springs Monday, May 15.

The kiln and the rig it takes to transport something this heavy is 23 feet wide, about 20 feet tall, and 3 to 4 times longer than a standard 18-wheeler. It's big and heavy.

Kiln getting ready to transport 2 - The Arkadeplian YouTube

Travel times will begin at 8 a.m. each weekday and at sunrise on the weekend. The transport will move no more than 5 to 20 miles per hour. Expect travel delays. The equipment will move along the following route:

Wednesday, May 10 (8 a.m.) – US-82 at Crossett Port to AR-275 in Strong
Thursday, May 11 (8 a.m.) – US-63 to US-167 in El Dorado
Friday, May 12 (8 a.m.) – US 167B to US-79 to Stephens
Saturday, May 13 (Dawn) – Stephens to US-278 to Rosston
Sunday, May 14 (Dawn) – US-278 to US-371 to 2nd Street in Prescott; AR-24 to AR-53 to Gurdon
Monday, May 15 (8 a.m.) – AR-53 to US-67 to Gum Springs

A trip that would normally take you about 3 hours by car will take days for this behemoth to transition. Those roads will be closed during those times so plan your routes and weekend trips accordingly.

You can also expect temporary power outages along the route as various low-hanging powerlines will have to be moved out of the way.

What's This Thing Do?

This giant kiln is designed to destroy Electric Vehicle batteries and will be located at Veolia North America in Gum Springs which is near Little Rock, Arkansas. The company is described as a thermal hazardous waste company.

Check out more details at The Arkadelphian.

The fact that it takes a giant kiln to dispose of EV car batteries is a whole other discussion, but something to think about. Let's be careful out there.

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