Corps Fiscal Year 2026 Work Plan Includes Inland Projects
The Corps of Engineers 2026 Work Plan, which lays out allocations of and additions to already-appropriated money, didn’t contain many surprises when it was released April 7 but did include updates on some projects closely followed by some inland constituencies.
It provides a total allocation of $18 million to continue regional program initiatives. That includes mega program management, for which $2 million was set aside. Additionally, it funds construction-ready activities for island building, floodplain restoration, water level management, wing dam and dike modification, backwater restoration, side channel restoration and island and shoreline protection projects on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers for $16 million.
The plan allocates $28 million to the Brandon Road Lock and Dam aquatic nuisance barrier to cover Increment II of the engineered channel. It added another $1 million to the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program, covering Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, for a total allocation of $53 million.
The Calcasieu River and Pass received an additional $18 million for a total 2026 allocation of $36 million for additional construction of a degraded containment dike.
As previously noted, Chickamauga Lock will receive a total $213 million allocation, including $53.25 million from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, to award the option for the approach walls and the decommissioning contract.
The work plan includes $350,000 in expenses for the Inland Waterways Users Board for Corps participants and $75,000 in travel expenses for industry board members, who serve without pay.
The full spreadsheet is available online at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Library.
