340-ton boulder begins trek to California museum

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Feb. 29 (UPI) -- The 340-ton granite boulder chosen to be part of a Los Angeles County Museum of Art installation has completed the first 5 miles of its 106-mile journey.

Mark Albrecht, project manager Emmert International, which is handling transportation of the massive rock, said the boulder left the Stone Valley quarry in Riverside Tuesday night and came to rest early Wednesday about 5 miles away at the intersection of Mission Boulevard and Bellegrave Avenue in Ontario, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

"We want to limit our travel tonight," Albrecht said prior to the 5-mile trek. "We don't want to bite off more than we can chew."

Albrecht said the 200-foot apparatus used to transport the boulder and its 20-strong fleet of support vehicles makes fast travel difficult.

The boulder is scheduled to arrive at the museum after 11 days of travel to become the centerpiece of artist Michael Heizer's "Levitated Mass" sculpture.