MOORE HAVEN – Plans are underway to transport a 220,000-pound boiler from Texas to South Bay via barge.

At the Aug. 28 meeting of the Glades County Board of Commissioners, Barnhart Crane and Rigging requested permission to use the airboat ramp at Alvin Ward Park to move equipment from a barge onto trucks to deliver to Florida Crystals in South Bay.

The company will be transporting a boiler that is 49 feet by 18 feet, and weighs 220,000 pounds from Texas City, Texas, to the Florida Crystals plant at South Bay. The company has already cleared the plan with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to bring the barge through the locks on the Caloosahatchee River. The barge is 140 feet by 40 feet. The boiler will be transported by truck from Moore Haven to South Bay. The operation will tie up the boat ramp for one full day. Florida Crystals offered to put up a bond to cover any costs should repairs be needed to the boat ramp or the county roads.

The commissioners directed County Attorney Richard Pringle to write an agreement requiring Florida Crystals to cover the costs of hiring AIM Engineering to inspect the boat ramp and roads before and after the barge comes in, and to put up a bond to cover the costs of any repairs – should any be required – to the boat ramp or any county-maintained roads between the boat ramp and U.S. 27.

The date for the operation has not been determined. Commissioners noted the boat ramp is busiest on the weekend and asked the operation to be planned for a weekday.