On tour with the rolling stone: Giant boulder visits 22 cities on its way to art installation

Enormous 40-ton chunk of granite will take 11 nights to travel 105 miles



Requires flatbed trailer the length of a football field to transport it

Artist Michael Heizer had been searching for the perfect rock for 40 years

Cost of creating mammoth artwork between $5 million and $10 million

A 340-ton boulder - due to go on display as a modern art exhibit - has begun a painstaking 105 mile journey from the spot it was found to the museum where it will be housed.

The enormous chunk of granite, will take 11 nights to travel between a quarry in Riverside, California, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wilshire Boulevarde's Miracle Mile.

Mounted onto a giant transporter 200 feet long and three lanes wide, the rock will crawl along at around eight miles an hour making its way through four counties and 22 cities.

Scroll down for video

Arthouse rock: The 340-ton boulder that 'earth artist' Michael Heizer has chosen to exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art must be moved 105 miles from a quarry in Riverside Off we go: Mounted on a 60 axle trailer three lanes wide, the enormous artwork begins its 11 night trip to the museum

Send off: Dozens of well-wishers were on hand to bid farewell to the rock and the quarry even hosted a barbecue on for museum staff and others involved with the mammoth project

Route: The boulder, which will be transported at night and during the early hours, cannot be taken on the freeway as it is too heavy for the bridges

The notoriously reclusive artist Michael Heizer had reportedly been searching for the perfect boulder for over 40 years.

When he came across the huge specimen in 2007 he said simply: 'That's the one'.



The piece entitled Levitated Mass will be placed over a 456-foot-long trench on the Museum's north side. Visitors will be able to walk underneath it where it will appear to be floating in the air above them.

Emmert International, which specializes in moving extremely large or sensitive objects, like nuclear generators and missiles, have taken charge of the tricky operation which will end on March 10.

Seach: The notoriously reclusive artist Michael Heizer had reportedly been looking for the perfect specimen for over 40 years

Logistics: To make way for the enormous vehicle, traffic signals will have to be disassembled and power lines cut before everything is reassembled in time for the morning rush hour

Workers lift power lines to make way for the custom built trailer which is three lanes wide and longer than a football field

Due to the scale of the operation it can only be moved during the night and early hours and the most direct route via the Pomona and Santa Monica freeways is out of the question as the bridges cannot bear the weight.

To clear the way, traffic signals will have to be disassembled and power lines cut before everything is reassembled in time for the morning rush hour.

Dozens of people were on hand to bid farewell to the rock and the quarry even hosted a barbecue on Tuesday night for museum staff and others involved with the move.

Steady: A crane lowers a supporting brace into the frame. The total cost of the operation is estimated to be somewhere between $5million and $10million

Operation: An engineering team, which normally specialises in transporting large objects like nuclear generators or missiles, constructs a frame around the boulder which will become part of the trailer

The trailer, equipped with 44 axles, built to hold at least a million pounds and powered by 650-horsepower engines in the front and back, will be accompanied by as many as 60 people who will clear a path for the rock and make sure it doesn't smash into anything going around turns.

Attraction: The rock will be placed on the north side of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

It will travel no faster than 5 to 8 miles per hour and only late at night and in the early morning.

The trip is expected to take 11 days, with the rock scheduled to roll up to the museum's back door sometime before dawn on March 10.



The curious can follow the rock's progress on Twitter or through the museum's website and blog.

Museum spokesman Miranda Carroll said: 'We're going to keep everybody updated as to where it's parked each day'.

Many were wary, especially given that officials say it is likely the largest rock to be moved from Point A to Point B since the days when the ancient Egyptians were building the pyramids.

The museum finally worked out a route that went around freeway overpasses, stayed away from bridges and avoided narrow streets to enough of a degree that everybody was satisfied.

The total project is costing $5 million to $10 million.

Museum director Michael Govan noted recently: 'It's funny, the Egyptians didn't have rubber wheels and diesel trucks to move things. But they also didn't have 22 cities through which they had to move their stones.

'And in California,' he added, "everybody has a say.