Roads will close from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. each night so utility crews and contractors can dismantle traffic lights, signs and utility poles for the convoy. No utilities are expected to be interrupted. Commuters should expect long traffic delays and are encouraged to plan alternate routes. To see which roads and intersections will be closed along the eight-mile route, visit www.spacecenter.org/bigmove. For information in addition to the website, follow Space Center Houston on Facebook or call its Big Move Info Line: 281-244-2119.
On the first night, the convoy will travel six miles along a portion of Highway 3 (Old Galveston Road) that will be closed between its intersections with Scarsdale and NASA Parkway. During the second night, it travels two miles to Space Center Houston on NASA Parkway, which will be closed from Highway 3 to Saturn Lane.
Once the plane is safely secured on the grounds of Space Center Houston on the morning of April 30, the center will open for normal business hours.
Once at Space Center Houston, the SCA will be reassembled by Boeing over a period of 44 days. Once reassembled, the space shuttle replica Independence will be installed in the ferry configuration on top of the SCA and inside exhibits will be built. The resulting eight-story-tall complex will open in 2015 as a world-class attraction for visitors to enter the shuttle and SCA, an experience unique in the world.
