Massive Magnet Makes its Way to Chicago, Causing Roadblocks as it Goes [VIDEO]

After more than a month on the road, a 17-ton electromagnet is on the last leg of its journey to Chicago where it will be put to work at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

First constructed in the 1990s, the 50-foot electromagnet was the largest in the world at the time and enabled scientists to delve into an unprecedented level of physics.

However, after 20 years at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, NY, researchers decided it was time for the powerful device to find a new home.

Once it arrives, those at the DOE lab plan on using the electromagnet to investigate the properties of the elusive subatomic particles called muons in an experiment, according to a Fermilab press release, that "could open up new realms of scientific discovery."

However, getting it there has been a feat of its own.

Comprised of three rings of aluminum with superconducting coils inside, the magnet cannot be taken apart or twisted even a few degrees without irreparably damaging the coils.

For this reason, the device has spent the last few weeks at sea, moving down the East Coast, around the tip of Florida and up the Mississippi, Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers before being loaded onto truck again for a two-day journey to the Chicago.

Then, on Saturday, the ring was loaded onto a specially designed truck and on Tuesday night, the last step of delivering it to Fermilab began, causing roadblocks and closed off intersections in order to ensure a safe, clear journey.

Although only 800 miles away from New York City, once the magnet arrives in Chicago -- an event scheduled for Friday night -- it will have traveled 3,200 miles at a price tag of $3 million.

Still, those behind the project report that it would have cost 10 times that amount to have built a new one.

"It's been a very long journey, and it took a lot of work from dozens of people," said Chris Polly, the project's manager at Fermilab. "Now that it's almost here, the excitement is building. We're eager to get the magnet here and start the experiment."