Photo By Abby Korfhage | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District successfully completed...... read more read more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District successfully completed maintenance work at Smithland Locks and Dam, located in Brookport, Illinois (Ohio River Mile 918.5), as part of USACE’s efforts to increase reliability and efficiency on the inland waterways system.
Smithland Locks and Dam, originally placed in operation in 1979, is home to two 110-foot wide, 1,200-foot-long chambers—making it the first structure of its size on the Ohio River and, at the time, the world’s largest twin navigational lock system. The 1,200-foot land chamber had been closed since mid-August to allow for the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division’s Regional Rivers Repair Heavy Capacity Fleet to perform miter gate repairs. Miter gates are a double-leaf gate that are used in canals, rivers and dams to help regulate water flow and allows vessels to pass through varying water levels between different sections of the river.
“In an effort to extend the serviceability at lock and dam facilities, lock chambers are planned to be dewatered on a semi-routine basis, so we can perform major maintenance on components that are vital to the operation,” said Davis Mattingly, Louisville District Assistant Locks and Dams Operations Manager. “From previous dive inspections, we were already aware of slight cracking in critical locations on the miter gates in the land chamber at Smithland, which increased the need for the dewatering. Along with repairing the known cracks, the project scope included replacing contact blocks, bubbler lines, miter gate machinery, pintle balls, and J-seal on all four gates. Our Engineering Division also completed inspections of the culverts and culvert valves.”
Much of this project was executed internally by USACE teams and after being temporarily closed since Aug. 19, the lock chamber reopened to navigation traffic Nov. 8.
The Heavy Capacity Fleet, based out of the USACE Huntington District, took the lead on completing the major maintenance activities. Louisville District Project Engineer Brandon Keller and Engineering Technician Cam Harris acted as on-site representatives, overseeing the schedule and scope of work while offering technical support to the fleet. Additionally, personnel Smithland Locks and Dam personnel contributed to various tasks as needed, according to Davis.
Like most projects of this size, the team faced several challenges during the project.
“From the onset, the project was being completed to repair previously identified cracking at the base of the miter gates. Once the chamber was dewatered, the visual inspections showed the cracking to be much worse than anticipated,” Davis said. “Another challenge was due to the time of the year, during the final adjustment of the contact blocks, the team experienced severe temperature changes with up to 40-degree swings from day to night shift. This significantly affected the miter gate adjustment process. Additionally, typical equipment failures arose during critical times of the project, and the team worked diligently to provide replacements or repairs for the necessary components to keep activities moving forward.”
Despite these challenges, the team responded quickly and led the project to success.
“For the miter gate cracking, the project team from Operations and Engineering Divisions quickly developed a bolt-on cover plate repair that helped disperse the load more adequately from the quoin post to adjacent diaphragms or vertical members,” Mattingly said. “Due to the tight schedule, all communication, engineering, fabrication, non-destructive testing and installation took place within a four-week timeline. This ultimately kept the team on track to meet the targeted completion date. To mitigate the effects from the wide temperature swings, the crew completed gate adjustments only during night shift. This ensured a more consistent working environment and allowed for conditions that more closely represented the water temperature at which the gates will be exposed during normal operations.”
According to Mattingly, similar lock chamber maintenance work will continue across the region, with another dewatering project planned for the auxiliary chamber at Markland Locks and Dam in Warsaw, Kentucky, next summer.
“Smithland’s Lockmaster, Kelly Winders, expressed gratitude for the effort that all USACE personnel took in improving the site’s longevity during this project,” Mattingly said. “The Louisville District and Huntington District once again partnered well to complete a challenging project on an aggressive schedule, while mitigating impacts to the navigation industry. The significant effort of all involved will benefit the Louisville District in both the short- and long-term operations at Smithland Locks and Dam.”
In the end, this successful repair project highlights USACE's commitment to maintaining and improving the nation's inland waterways, ensuring the continued smooth and safe operation of vital lock and dam facilities.
| Date Taken: | 12.02.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2024 09:22 |
| Story ID: | 487566 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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