Oversize load to move through Ouachita County today

A 300-ton furnace kiln is making its way through south Arkansas to Gum Springs, traveling through Union County May 10-12. The kiln will complete its journey through Union County today as it passes into Ouachita County. (Courtesy of the Arkansas Department of Transportation/Special to the Camden News)
A 300-ton furnace kiln is making its way through south Arkansas to Gum Springs, traveling through Union County May 10-12. The kiln will complete its journey through Union County today as it passes into Ouachita County. (Courtesy of the Arkansas Department of Transportation/Special to the Camden News)

A massive kiln furnace bound for a hazardous waste treatment plant in Gum Springs will make the final leg of its three-day journey through Union County today, after traveling around Strong on Wednesday and El Dorado on Thursday.

The 300-ton kiln began its trip through Arkansas on Wednesday, starting at the Crossett Port. It will end the trip when it arrives at the Veolia Thermal Hazardous Waste Treatment Operation in Gum Springs on Monday, May 15.

The kiln was manufactured in Italy, shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to New Orleans, where it arrived on April 15, and loaded onto a barge on the Mississippi River, where it traveled to the Ouachita River and stopped at the Crossett Port.

Because of its size, the kiln is being transported alongside a convoy made up of civilian pickup trucks, a set of push and pull trucks, four bucket trucks and a suspension beam dual lane transport trailer, which is actually carrying the kiln, according to reporting by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation, which has been planning the kiln's trip through the state for the past year, said on social media that the pickup trucks leading the convoy help ensure the kiln will fit under potential obstructions, like power lines. The bucket trucks allow workers to move power lines or other obstructions that the kiln wouldn't otherwise fit under.

David Archer, ARDoT district 7 engineer, said the kiln had made it to its destination at JET Asphalt by about 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. He said the transport operation has so far gone well.

Today, the kiln will travel about 40 miles, from its stopping point on U.S. 167 to U.S.79 in Stephens, in Ouachita County. From there, the kiln will be transported to Rosston, then Prescott, followed by Gurdon, and on Monday, May 15, it's expected to arrive at its destination in Gum Springs.

"It will leave at approximately 8 a.m. (Friday) and take 167B to 7 Spur, then 7 Spur to 7, 7 to 376 at Camden, 376 to 79, 79 south and stop at Ogema," Archer said in an email on Thursday.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the kiln will be used to safely dispose of "complex waste streams" through thermal treatment, operating at extremely high temperatures with the ability to rotate at different angles "to ensure that all waste materials are properly treated."

According to a press release from Veolia, the company that will operate the waste treatment plant, the facility will have the lowest emissions of any plant of its kind and represents an investment of $300 million in the state.

The convoy can only travel at about 5 to 20 miles per hour. It likely reached top speed on its descent down the steep Ouachita River Bridge on Wednesday.

By Thursday, the kiln had travelled approximately 41 miles, mostly through Union County, and the trip today will be about 37 miles.

The Arkansas State Police have also assisted with the transport.

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