Nashville District Honors Teams For Rapid Lock Repairs
The Nashville Engineer District has awarded employees who supported back-to-back repairs at Wilson and Pickwick locks with its Hedgehog Award, recognizing excellence in the performance of their duties.
Nearly 50 employees throughout the middle Tennessee River area and the Nashville District played a part in the gate repairs at Wilson Lock, Tennessee River Mile 259.4, and the replacement of gate fenders at Pickwick Lock, Tennessee River Mile 206.7.
“The outage at Wilson Lock was completely unexpected and unscheduled … and almost shut navigation on the river down, but then our team jumped into action,” said Tim Fudge, Nashville Engineer District Operations Division chief.
Fudge said the recipients of the recognition came together to identify the cause of the problem and initiate a repair plan. In doing so, they worked extremely long hours and coordinated with other districts and organizations to line up required resources and make the necessary emergency repairs, he said.
At Wilson Lock in Florence, Ala., the district partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority to fabricate components for the new pintle assembly, the hinge for each 650-ton miter gate leaf. The district also worked closely with the Huntington Engineer District’s Regional Rivers Repair Fleet’s heavy capacity fleet, which provided the heavy-lift resources needed for the repairs.
Meanwhile, lock operators and maintenance and administrative support personnel within the Nashville District kept the auxiliary lock operating so that industry could continue to move products while the main chamber was closed.
“During the outage of the main navigation lock, our lock operators stepped up to the challenge and worked around the clock to move barges one at a time through the auxiliary lock,” lockmaster Brian Brewer said.
Brewer said, among other tasks, employees tracked shift schedules, assisted with time entry changes and supported increased demand for purchasing. They helped to navigate budget restrictions, process travel documents and track job maintenance.
At Pickwick Lock in Counce, Tenn., team members were involved in the planning and acquisition of materials as well as coordination with the heavy capacity fleet.
The work at both Wilson Lock and Pickwick locks also required personnel to support repairs and operations while on temporary duty, which reduced employees at other projects for nearly a year. Leadership noticed the workload and praised the total team effort by employees across the district.
“Every single employee that was a part of the Wilson Lock repair and Pickwick fenders replacement displayed excellence throughout the job no matter what change or disruption that arose,” Brewer said. “Each employee was committed to ensuring this was a successful job. They all adjusted quickly when needed so that the mission to keep river traffic moving was not interrupted.”
Fudge said the Hedgehog Award “is a big deal.”
“This represents what we do best, what we focus on, what we dial in on when we have a real problem,” he added. “This team pulled off a $20 million project, again, unplanned, in just a few months and restored navigation and reliability.”
Those employees recognized were Ryan Johnson, Justin Gray, Josh Garcia, Mike Murphy, Justin Reed, Robert Henry, Joe Adawag, Donna Roberson, Virginia Bevis, Shelby McNutt, Daniel Keenum, Chase Garrett, Jason Bradley, Brandon Hamilton, Travis Smith, James Byrd, Dino Wiley, David Cherry, Joshua “Dustin” Kelley, Charlie King, Matthew Williamson, Shaun Apger, Gabriel Woods, Brian Pierce, Steven Woodard, Phil Bahr, Cody Braly, Lamika Bailey, Ty Melton, Joshua Miles, Matthew Chambers, Drew Brown, Stan Emmons, Joseph Storms, Brandon Smith, Randy Boyd, Jake Crab, Micah Hurt, Matthew “Craig” Smith, Christopher Taylor, Hector Soto, Matthew Thurmond, Bradley Wilson, Chase Green, Wyatt Mosure, Julie Howell, Zack Sanfrantel, Peter McDonald, Brian Brewer and Scott Padgett.
