Luhr Bros. Wins $11.8 Million Dike Contract

The Memphis Engineer District has awarded a contract of just over $11.8 million for dike construction and maintenance on the Lower Mississippi River at Donaldson Point near New Madrid, Mo.

The Corps is partnering with commercial towing interests, represented by the Lower Mississippi River Committee (LOMRC), as the non-federal sponsor to execute the contract at River Mile 903.

Luhr Brothers Inc., of Columbia, Illinois, won the $11,809,760 contract. It is funded through a combination of sources from the Disaster Relief Supplemental Act of 2022 (DRSAA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) money allocated by Congress.

“This work is needed in this reach of the river due to continued navigation concerns raised by towboat pilots during recent low-water years,” project manager Zach Cook said. “This area has also required repetitive dredging over the past few years as well.”

Work at the site will include placing approximately 316,000 tons of graded stone to restore and raise four existing dikes and to construct environmental notches in all four dikes for habitat diversity in the secondary side channel along the right descending bank, Cook said.

“This dike project will work in conjunction with dike work completed early this spring at Below Island 9, Tennessee, to improve the channel crossing and low water navigation conditions in this reach of the Mississippi River,” he said.

The Memphis district is responsible for maintenance of 355 miles of the Mississippi River from Cairo, Ill., to the mouth of the White River near Rosedale, Miss.

“This is accomplished through the construction of revetments, dikes, construction dredging and other structures,” Cook said. “In wide reaches of the river, dikes are used to contract the channel width to produce a more efficient channel for navigation and reduce the need for repetitive dredging.  Finally, work of this nature helps ensure the flood-carrying capacity of the river.”

Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in December and to be completed in February.