Locks and Dams Archives - The Waterways Journal

$12.9 Million Contract For Montgomery Dam Gate Replacements

Locks and Dams

$12.9 Million Contract For Montgomery Dam Gate Replacements

August 10, 2020

The Pittsburgh Engineer District has announced the award of a $12.9 million contract for the installation of two new dam lift gates and a new control system at Montgomery Locks… Read More

Corps Finds Home For Pool 5 Dredged Material

July 31, 2020

The Corps of Engineers said on July 24 it has found a home for dredged material from Pool 5 of the Mississippi River that could last it from 80 to… Read More

Main Chamber Closure Set At Emsworth L&D —photo by Carol Vernon, Pittsburgh Engineer District The main chamber at Emsworth Locks and Dam will be closed from August 31 to November 13.

—photo by Carol Vernon, Pittsburgh Engineer District The main chamber at Emsworth Locks and Dam will be closed from August 31 to November 13.

Main Chamber Closure Set At Emsworth L&D

July 31, 2020

The main chamber at Emsworth Locks and Dam will be closed from August 31 until November 13, the Pittsburgh Engineer District announced last week. The Corps’ repair fleet will dewater… Read More

Arkansas River Lock To Close In August

July 27, 2020

The Arkansas River will experience a scheduled 10-day complete lock closure during August. David Terry Lock (Lock No. 6) at Mile 108 will be closed August 19 through August 29. Read More

Kentucky Lock Adds Helper Boat Night Shift

July 27, 2020

A second helper boat will add a night shift on certain nights to help reduce the upbound queue at Kentucky Lock. The Nashville Engineer District announced in a Navigation Notice… Read More

Massman Replaces Anchorages At Locks 24 And 25 Massman Construction’s barge-mounted ringer crane moves miter gate as part of anchorage replacement project. (Photo courtey of Massman Construction)

Massman Construction’s barge-mounted ringer crane moves miter gate as part of anchorage replacement project. (Photo courtey of Massman Construction)

Massman Replaces Anchorages At Locks 24 And 25

July 20, 2020

Earlier this year, Massman Construction replaced the anchorages for the miter gates at Locks 24 and 25 on the Upper Mississippi River. Lock 24 is located near Clarksville, Mo., while Lock 25… Read More

Illinois Waterway Lock Closures Begin

July 10, 2020

The long-planned closure of six Illinois River locks and dams began July 1, with the full closure of LaGrange Lock and Dam and Starved Rock Lock and Dam to extend… Read More

Louisville Engineer District Closes McAlpine North Lock For Repairs —Louisville Engineer District The heavy capacity repair fleet removes miter gate leaves from McAlpine Locks and Dam’s north lock on the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky., to allow dewatering. The chamber will remain closed through mid-November.

—Louisville Engineer District The heavy capacity repair fleet removes miter gate leaves from McAlpine Locks and Dam’s north lock on the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky., to allow dewatering. The chamber will remain closed through mid-November.

Louisville Engineer District Closes McAlpine North Lock For Repairs

July 2, 2020

Cranes lifted miter gate leaves high in the air as a five-month closure of the north lock chamber got underway recently at McAlpine Locks and Dam in Louisville. The 1,200-foot… Read More

Whitten Lock To Begin Month-Long Closure

June 26, 2020

The Mobile Engineer District is set to close Jamie Whitten Lock, located at Mile 411.9 on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, for the month of July for a dewatering and repairs to… Read More

Olmsted Locks Through First 2020 Tows

—Photo courtesy of Louisville Engineer District Two upbound tows lock through at Olmsted Locks and Dam in September 2019. In June, the Corps raised the wickets for the first time in 2020, the fourth time since Olmsted opened in August 2018. By Shelley Byrne River traffic has locked through the twin 1,200-foot-by-110-foot chambers at Olmsted Locks and Dam for the first time this year and only the fourth time in the project’s history. “The weather conditions over the past couple of years have been unique, but raising it in June is much more normal,” said Ryan Lawrence, assistant operations manager for the Louisville Engineer District’s locks and dams project office. Olmsted personnel began raising the wicket dam June 18. It had also been raised in August 2018, August 2019 and November 2019, for a total of about 100 days, Lawrence said. The longest period was in August 2019, when the wicket dam held pool for 62 days at 301.5 feet above sea level, maintaining the pool 46 river miles, back to the Smithland Locks and Dam. A more typical elevation at Olmsted is 295 to 300 feet, based on a hinged pool that takes advantage of the natural slope of the river. Crews began lowering the wickets June 23 in response to rainfall in the upper Ohio Valley, but Lawrence said they may need to go back up again in another two weeks or so, given current forecasting that calls for less rain and a falling Mississippi River. The Corps said it expects to raise and lower the wickets an average of four times each season. “But so far we haven’t really had an average year,” Lawrence said. “You do what needs to be done to maintain the river elevations.” Given the weather so far this year, the Corps believes this season may be much closer to a typical one than the last two have been. However, Lawrence cautioned, “As we saw last year, there’s no real way to know. We look at historical trends and what we expect with weather patterns.” Although the Corps had plenty of experience with wickets at the former Locks and Dams 52 and 53, Olmsted modernized the process when it opened in August 2018 on the Ohio River near Olmsted, Ill. In addition, instead of a hook blindly grabbing for a bar on the wickets beneath the water, GPS and a sonar camera aid the process. “They really took the things they learned from 52 and 53 and implemented and improved those things here,” Lawrence said. The Corps has less experience using tainter gates combined with a wicket dam to control flow. Olmsted has five tainter gates, while the former projects didn’t have any, although other Ohio River locks and dams in the district have them. The gates can be opened and closed to maintain the pool without raising and lowering the wickets as frequently. “We’re definitely still learning that,” Lawrence said, adding that Olmsted has a unique combination of factors since high water on the Mississippi River can back up the Ohio to as far as Olmsted and since levels on Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River, Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River and on the Ohio at Smithland

Olmsted Locks Through First 2020 Tows

June 26, 2020

River traffic has locked through the twin 1,200-foot-by-110-foot chambers at Olmsted Locks and Dam for the first time this year and only the fourth time in the project’s history. “The… Read More

Nashville District Lock Closures Set

June 23, 2020

The Nashville Engineer District has reported the following scheduled lock closures. June 24–28: Chickamauga Lock on the Tennessee River will have intermittent closures from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily… Read More

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