Stout Outlines Lock Repairs, Rising Costs

Brad Stout, navigation operations manager for the Louisville Engineer District, detailed some of the district’s major projects April 9 as part of the Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals Inc. (IRPT) Ohio Basin meeting.

Stout began with briefly speaking about the sinking of the mv. Jackie Lee Anderson last summer at Olmsted Locks and Dam. The boat lifted wickets to set the dam into place during periods of lower water.

That vessel must either be rehabbed or replaced to maintain the reliability of the wicket dam, Stout said.

Additionally, an accident in January 2023, when a tow struck a mooring cell, causing the tow to break apart and several to be pinned against the dam, caused major damage to tainter gate 1 at McAlpine Locks and Dam near Louisville.

“The tainter gate’s still decommissioned right now,” he said. “It’s inoperable, so it’s another high priority.”

An emergency repair of gate machinery will take place at the Cannelton Locks and Dam’s auxiliary chamber May 1 through June 19. Intermittent closures will also be necessary for the Cannelton Interlock installation project, which will upgrade the electrical, miter gate and valve controls at the locks and dam at Cannelton, Ind.

Other upcoming projects include emergency bulkhead repairs and a cable connection replacement both at John T. Myers Dam in Uniontown, Ky., cable connection replacement and controls upgrades at Smithland Locks and Dam in Smithland, Ky., and electrical testing at several sites, which will require intermittent closures.

“Finding those old components for the actual electrical system is a task in and of itself,” Stout said, noting that some of the locks and dams were built in the 1950s.

Additionally, a project involving working on the anchor arms at Olmsted Locks and Dam has been scheduled for September.

Stout spoke about the importance of performing continued maintenance to upgrade systems and prevent potential emergency closures. The district has executed packages at Markland, Cannelton, John T. Myers and Newburgh locks and dams so far, he said.

“So we’ll continue to move forward with those budget submissions,” he said.

He noted that work could include replacing long runs of pipe as well as end-lifecycle replacement on some gates.

“So there’s $504 million in backlog maintenance,” Stout said. “I would take that with a grain of salt because we have been going through and updating a lot of our numbers, and it’s not only deferred maintenance. This number includes a lot of the end of lifecycle replacements, and what we’ve been seeing is any HSS or hydraulic structural steel structures, the cost to fabricate has skyrocketed since COVID.”

The deferred maintenance cost had been under $300 million before an updated cost estimate was completed in the past few years, he said. Stout added that the higher cost to award contracts is limiting the ability to complete projects because of budget constraints.

“So, essentially, we get less done with the money we’re getting,” Stout said. “So we’ve got to go through and make those risk-informed decisions as we move forward.”

These projects are very important to the nation as a whole, he said, noting that seven of the top 14 U.S. inland river locks by annual tonnage are located within the Louisville Engineer District, with Olmsted still No. 1.

“System reliability is of the utmost importance, along with dredging,” Stout said.

Stout also reviewed several of the district’s past projects, highlighting innovations that saved the district time and allowed quicker reopenings for industry. That included previous dewaterings and component replacements completed by the Regional Repair Fleets from the Huntington Engineer District at both McAlpine and Cannelton as well as work completed last fall at Green River Lock 1 during two 30-day closures with a 30-day window in between to allow tows to enter and exit the pool. That schedule was reached after working closely with the navigation industry, Stout said.

Currently, he said, the Light Capacity Fleet is working in McAlpine’s north chamber on gate machinery. That chanber is scheduled to be closed through April 30. The Heavy Capacity Fleet is at Markland, working on machinery in the main chamber as well as emergency gate machinery. That chamber was to reopen April 17.

In Other Business

In other business, Brian Rafferty, vice president of business development and sustainability at Marquette Transportation Company, and Ben Weithman, executive director of the Henderson County Riverport Authority in Henderson, Ky., were elected by members to IRPT’s Ohio River Basin board.