Four Texas Towers in Italy needed to be delivered to Illinois. The towers, 87’ long and weighing up to 325,000 lbs., were barged to the Port of Marghera by the local fabricator. Barnhart received the towers from the barge directly to the heavy lift vessel, BBC Everest.
After nearly a month’s journey by sea, the towers arrived at Associated Terminals in New Orleans. Barnhart’s crew received the towers to a 250’ X 54’ deck barge by the ship’s gear.
The barge journey was made under a dedicated tow to the roll off location. Upon arrival in Joliet, the Barnhart crew rolled the cargo off the barge and transloaded to self-propelled platform trailers. But paralyzing snowstorms resulted in icy roads and subzero temperatures complicating the final leg and delaying delivery for days.
Once the weather finally lifted, Barnhart transported the towers to the site one by one. The sections were self-offloaded to stands and beams. From beginning to end the towers traveled roughly 9,000 miles.