Courtesy Photo | The team preps one of the tainter valve pits in order to remove the tainter valve. The...... read more read more
ALMA, Wis. - St. Paul District, recently completed scheduled winter maintenance on Lock and Dam 4 near Alma, Wisconsin. The Corps’ maintenance and repair section from Fountain City, Wisconsin, began work in December 2019 and finished in March 2020.
The team rehabilitated the lock’s four tainter valves, using a crane to remove the valves from the bottom of the lock walls. The project included sandblasting and painting the tainter valves with three coats of vinyl paint. “This type of rehabilitative work is critical to maintain infrastructure that is over 80 years old,” said Judy Denzer, Lock and Dam 4 lockmaster.
On the lock wall, the team demolished a large section of concrete and installed a new section of armor plating on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River. The maintenance work fixed damage that occurs throughout the navigation season when tows entering the lock southbound come into contact with the upper wall, damaging its armor plate and the bull nose, the part of the structure separating the lock from the dam.
High water during last year’s navigation season contributed to damage that occurs as 105-foot wide tows attempt to maneuver into a 110-foot wide lock. Currents are stronger during high water flows, especially when the dam’s gates are raised. If tows overcorrect, they come into contact with the lock structure.
The project was originally scheduled to take place after dewatering the lock chamber. With dewatering delayed until 2021, operations management decided to go ahead with rehabilitating the valves and wall in order to improve navigation safety. Shortly after maintenance completion, the Corps reopened the lock to allow tows to travel north to St. Paul.
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| Date Taken: | 12.18.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2020 14:19 |
| Story ID: | 369907 |
| Location: | ALMA, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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