Pipe Routing

In 2004 Emmert International was awarded a contract from a fabrication company in North Texas to transport 18 pipe rack modules to a refinery in South Texas. The route covered more than 20880 miles (33400 km) of road in just six weeks.

Each pipe rack module had a gross loaded weight of 140000 pounds (64 tonnes), an overall length of 90 feet, an overall width of 18 feet, and an overall height of 20 feet (27 x 5.5 x 6 m). Transporting them required a four-axle, single drop, stretch deck trailer, pulled by a four-axle tractor. This combination kept the axle groupings within legal limits to obtain permits, and a total of five such units were required to transport so many modules in the short time available.

The dimensions of the load made it difficult to find a route, as any trees, wires, and low overhead clearance were potential problems. All planning and permits for the job depended on the clearances around the loaded pipe rack modules.

To identify a suitable route the cities and counties affected were contacted to discuss the requirements for the large components. A physical route survey was then made to find problems areas. All the concerns were identified, and a suitable and workable route was determined.

Each load was escorted by bucket trucks used to lift all the overhead power, traffic lights and phone lines out of the way, so the pipe racks could pass safely underneath. Tree limbs and signs along the route also had to be moved. The lead escort used a height stick to ensure proper clearance was achieved, while a rear pilot car controlled traffic, especially in restricted passing areas.

The timing of each delivery was crucial, due to the lack of space to unload the units at their final destination. An off site staging area was established to accommodate the pipe racks while the site was prepared. The racks were then delivered, with only an hour's notice, to the site's off-loading area to maintain the critical path of the customer's project schedule.

In total Emmert completed the18 round trips for all modules to a total gross weight of 2520000 pounds (1143 tonnes). Even with all the time restrictions and offloading requirements at the destination, all loads were delivered on time and within budget.