United States Transportation Command

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (USTCNS) --- There is a lot of highway between San Pedro, Calif, and Beaumont, Texas.

It is about 850 miles - and that is as the crow flies.

Heavy rig driver Steve Howell knows every mile.

Actually, he knows many more miles.

He knows all the detours and secondary roads the highway patrol requires you to take when you are hauling an oversize load - a 70-foot, 135,000 pound lighter craft medium -or LCM. The Navy-gray metal craft rises over 16 feet off its trailer and spreads 21 feed across the road.

Howell, president, Transcontinental Rigging & Loading, of Streamwood, Ill, has a slogan on his business card, "No job too large."

The Beginning

Roy Warner had a problem.

The one-time-only transportation request sat on Warner's desk in MTMC's Joint Traffic Management Office.

A one-time-only transportation action could be as fundamental as moving a single privately owned vehicle to the Dominican Republic.

Warner's request was far, far more involved: Move two U.S. Navy surplus lighter craft medium from San Pedro, Calif., to Tunisia - half way around the world.

Shipping routes via the Panama Canal were prohibitive.

"In no time at all, we're talking about a quarter million dollars," said Warner.

He changed directions. Why not consider a move by truck to the MTMC port of Beaumont - slicing through the southwestern United States to reach blue water?

A request for proposals went out seeking bids from a small niche market of motor carriers who haul oversize and overweight loads on the nation's highways.

The Patriarch

John Howell started Transcontinental a half century ago. Returning from Navy duty in 1946, he bought a surplus Army truck and went into business.

Complimenting the truck, he wore a relative's surplus Army uniform, Howell, now 79, was often mistaken for the real thing!

Howell's company prospered and grew. At the height of the Cold War, he hauled many giant loads destined for Air Force missile sites.

In later years, huge maritime vessels - military, commercial and recreational - began to make up many of his loads.

Fifty years after starting the company, the elder Howell still works a full day's shift as chief executive officer. Any given day might find multiple vessels being moved across the country by Transcontinental.

Howell looked at the MTMC request -- this was a job Transcontinental could handle …

The Journey

Contract specials studied the proposals and made a decision: The contract would go to Transcontinental.

Howell's own son, Steve, would move the load. His wife, Linda, would drive one of the escort cars.

The challenge began at once.

Arriving in California, Steve Howell had engine trouble in his truck - quickly repaired.

Measuring his load, Howell found a second obstacle - the Coast Guard gate at San Pedro was too narrow. Facility workers quickly began taking the gate apart.

Howell's journey with the LCM began - mile-upon-mile.

The average speed was 35 mph.

Escort cars shepherded the big load - acting as the driver's eyes in front and in the rear -- allowing other traffic to speed by at sporadic intervals.

"This was an easy load - as they go," said Howell.

Transcontinental sought moving permits from highway patrol offices in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Oversize loads of this size are no longer allowed on the interstate highway system.

Howell's journey followed an easterly axis - often moving in a meandering fashion at times to avoid low bridges, hanging wires and congested roads.

Sometimes the roads were narrow.

"At times we took the entire road and hung off both shoulders," said Howell. "It was something to see."

Mile-upon-mile …

Escort cars skillfully identified the journey ahead and helped trailing vehicles around.

Top speed: 40 mph., and usually much slower.

A good day's run: 250 miles.

On Sept. 25, Howell parked in Fredericksburg, Texas, for the weekend. He was 100 miles west of the city of Austin.

Over the weekend, Howell and his wife drove the route to Beaumont in a pickup truck - all the way down the city's Main Street to the front gate of the port.

Most of what he found was expected - good roads and bad - all passable for the gigantic load.

However, carefully measuring traffic lights in downtown Beaumont, Howell found several hanging lower than the height stated in police assurances. Worse, several were lower than his 16-foot, six-inch load!

MTMC Oversight

Maj. Serge Pelletier was another MTMC worker with a problem.

How do you find a moving truck and trailer carrying a giant LCM threading through busy Houston?

Pelletier, operations officer for the Joint Traffic Management Office, pondered his next move.

Steve Howell was facing delays - and road changes. John Howell, in far off Illinois, did not want to disturb his son with a cellular phone call.

The day grew late.

Pelletier established a command post at a Day's Inn on I-10 on the city's West Side.

Late evening, MTMC's Canadian integrated officer at last got a phone call from John Howell. The elder Howell said his son planned to stop on Highway 90, just off the Highway 8 Houston beltway - just 88 miles from Beaumont.

5 a.m.

Pelletier was on the move. Skipping coffee, he rushed north toward the intersection.

The absolute black of predawn was complete.

Off to the left - something, slowly taking form - a huge shadow dwarfing the giant trailer it was on - a vessel's silhouette!

At last. Pelletier had caught up.

Final Run

The final day.

Endless rows of telephone poles slid by on the flat landscape.

Transcontinental was on the move.

The final communities on the journey rolled by - Cosby, Dayton, Liberty …

And, finally, Beaumont where police cars waited. Resident Velma Turner's escort car was everywhere at once - leading the move through congested downtown streets.

Howell deftly slipped by low wires and traffic lights.

The scene was surreal with loud police sirens … shepherded now by the news vehicles of TV-4, TV-6 and TV-12.

The journey ends on Main Street, Beaumont, as Howell turns into the front gate of the port.

The Commander

It seemed like everyone in the 596th Transportation Group was at the front gate.

The LCM is the largest piece of MTMC cargo to go through Beaumont in the 13 years he has been there, said Ken Pendergraft, operations officer.

Col. Jonathan White, the commander, stood boldly out front to greet the vessel.

"First time I've seen all our people turned out for cargo arrival," said White, who has been assigned there for the past 18 months.

White had a special interest in the load.

"I used to command a platoon of these as a lieutenant," said White. "But, I've never seen one out of the water."

MTMC transporters led by Ralph Cote led the cargo the final yards.

The crane to unload the vessel would not be available until tomorrow: A day off for Howell and his wife.

Then?

"I'm going right back to California to get the second boat," said Howell. (FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).

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Giant MTMC cargo moves on incredible journey

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