J.F. Brennan Gets $43.6 Million Contract For Lock 25 Expansion Project

The St. Louis Engineer District announced the award of a $43.6 million contract to J. F. Brennan Company, Inc. of La Crosse, Wis., July 10 for site preparation and lock foundation work on the Lock and Dam 25 expansion project.

“This milestone marks a major step forward in modernizing the nation’s inland waterway infrastructure and securing the future of American agricultural and industrial supply chains,” the district said in a news release.

Construction associated with this phase is scheduled to begin this summer. “We’re pleased the Corps could get this final advance contract established, to work on the lock foundation and address critical site prep that puts us closer to that sixth and final contract for the new 1,200-foot chamber and associated construction,” said Paul Rohde, vice president of the Midwest region of the Waterways Council Inc.

Scope Of Work

Under this contract, J. F. Brennan Company, Inc. will be responsible for rock excavation and establishment of the future lock foundation, a new separator wall, a flow deflector and the preparation of an upland area for project staging.

The Lock 25 Expansion Project, a flagship initiative under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP), will construct a new 1,200-foot lock chamber adjacent to the existing 600-foot lock built in 1939. Once completed, the original 85-year-old chamber will be maintained as a redundant auxiliary lock to ensure continuous operation during maintenance periods.

For decades, the standard 600-foot locks on the Upper Mississippi River have created severe bottlenecks. Today’s commercial towing industry standard is a 15-barge tow, which spans roughly 1,050 feet and cannot fit into the legacy locks. To pass through Lock 25, crews are forced to perform a dangerous and time-consuming “double-lockage,” disconnecting the barges, passing them through in two separate trips and reconnecting them on the other side.

The new 1,200-foot lock chamber will allow a full 15-barge tow to pass through in a single lockage. This upgrade is projected to make lock transit times up to four times faster, drastically reducing operational delays, lowering shipping costs and significantly improving the overall safety of mariners working on the river.

The uninterrupted operation of Lock 25 supports the movement of hundreds of millions of tons of cargo annually. By eliminating the Lock 25 pinch point, this project underpins billions of dollars in U.S. agricultural, energy and industrial exports, preserving a vital competitive advantage for the American economy.

“Lock and Dam 25 has been a vital workhorse of our nation’s economy since 1939, but our agricultural and industrial partners need 21st-century infrastructure to compete globally,” said Jose Lopez, senior project manager for the Lock 25 Expansion Project. “Moving into this construction phase is an exciting milestone that represents incredible collaboration between our engineering teams, industry partners and regional stakeholders. The site preparation and foundation work starting this summer is crucial to paving the way for a modernized waterway that will eliminate a notorious navigation bottleneck and secure a more resilient supply chain for generations to come.”

Featured photo caption: Work at the existing Lock and Dam 25 will include rock excavation and construction of the future lock foundation, a new separator wall and a flow deflector, along with preparation of an upland staging area for the project. (Courtesy of the St. Louis Engineer District)