Two More Cokers Move Through Beach Cities

The second of three pairs of gigantic coker vessels completed a 4 1/2-mile trip from Redondo Beach's King Harbor to Chevron's El Segundo refinery Thursday around 1:30 a.m.

Each customized transporter, nearly as large as the Space Shuttle, moves at 2-3 mph. Each coker is about 100 feet tall and 28 feet across and weighs about 500,000 pounds.

The final pair of cokers will arrive in King Harbor in Redondo Beach Monday and make their trek to Chevron beginning Wednesday night.

The cokers were shipped from Spain to the Port of Los Angeles, then barged to King Harbor, where they were rolled onto self-propelled transporters with 32 axles and 128 wheels. 

Officials have been planning the movement of the cokers, cylindrical vessels used for heating crude oil and "cracking" it into lighter petroleum products, for months. Coordination has involved Chevron, utility companies, Caltrans and cities.

The transport affects Highway 1, more commonly known as Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach and Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, all the way to Rosecrans Avenue on the north. The rigs turn left on Rosecrans and enter the Chevron refinery from Pacific Avenue.

Once all six cokers are at the refinery, Chevron will build "the world's largest crane" to remove the old coker units and replace them.

The old cokers, built and installed in 1968, will be sold for scrap. The overall project is set for completion in early 2014, Rearick said.

Chevron has set up a hotline for people with questions to call: (310) 615-5298.

--City News Service contributed to this article.

• Previously: Massive Chevron Coke Drums Trek Through Beach Cities
• Previously: Chevron Cokers on the Move Overnight
• Previously: Coke Drums to Continue Journey Wednesday
• Previously: Coke Drums Roll Through Redondo
• Previously: Chevron Coke Drum Transport to Affect Beach Cities