Photo By Jeremy Croft | Cayce Grall, project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District,...... read more read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 1, 2025) – Whether or not the Corps of Engineers constructs a brand-new navigation lock or operates and maintains one well into its designed lifespan, these critical infrastructure projects require significant appropriations and receive a great deal of Congressional interest and oversight.
That’s why the chair of the Congressional House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, visited several critical infrastructure projects Friday on the Tennessee River to assess repairs at Wilson Lock in Florence, Alabama, and construction status at Chickamauga Lock in Chattanooga.
During a morning visit to Wilson Lock, Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, joined Rep. Dale Strong, Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, on a walking tour of Wilson Lock to learn more about ongoing repairs of the downstream miter gates from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and Tennessee Valley Authority officials.
USACE, which operates and maintains Wilson Lock at the TVA project, closed the main lock in September 2024 due to significant cracks on the river-side lock wall where the miter gate is hinged at the pintle assembly, and cracks on the land-side miter gate. The Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Regional Repair Fleet’s Large Capacity Fleet in the Huntington District is on site working with Nashville District and TVA maintenance teams to replace the pintle casting and to repair cracks on the gates. The lock is expected to be reopened when repairs are completed in mid-June.
While the main lock is closed, vessels and barges are using the auxiliary lock to move goods up and down the Tennessee River. When operable, the main lock can accommodate a 15-barge tow in four hours. It is taking 16-24 hours to move the same number of barges through the auxiliary lock, which is causing significant delays for the barge industry.
After the lock tour, Congressmen Collins and Strong spoke about the critical need for infrastructure investment to alleviate navigation bottlenecks in support of the economy and national security, and ensure economic prosperity along the Tennessee River, and elsewhere in the Inland Waterways Transportation System.
Rep. Collins said that wanted to see Wilson Lock to obtain a firsthand “touch and see and feel” of what is going on because he understands how important it is to keep commerce flowing up and down the nation’s rivers.
“My part is to oversee the Corps of Engineers as it applies to water resources,” Collins said. “We need to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to get commerce back to normal.”
Getting back to normal, Strong said, involves understanding the value of the Corps of Engineers and TVA and what they are doing at Wilson Lock.
“What I’m excited about is the Corps of Engineers and TVA are working together to solve this problem,” Rep. Strong stressed. “It’s mechanical engineers at their best, and having to modify, and make this happen, but this is what TVA, and the Corps of Engineers, is all about.”
In the afternoon, Rep. Collins visited Chickamauga Lock and the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project where the Nashville District is building a new 110-foot by 600-foot navigation lock to replace an old lock that has structural problems. When this construction project is completed, the new lock will handle nine jumbo barges in one lockage compared to one barge per lockage in the existing lock.
Two separate construction contracts are ongoing to complete the lock chamber and upstream approach walls. The Nashville District expects to award the approach walls and decommissioning contract in the December 2025 timeframe, which is the final contract to complete the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project.
Rep. Collins said he wanted to see the construction of the massive lock chamber to understand the project’s challenges while promoting the importance of being productive and efficient.
“Our locks and dams across the country are getting older and a lot of them in most areas are well past their useful life,” Rep. Collins said. “You’ve got to make a decision. Do you want to continue maintenance, or is it better to start a new project?”
The representative from Georgia is a businessman from the trucking industry. He explained that when a truck gets a lot of miles and wear on it, they must decide when to trade it in for a new one. He stressed that federal agencies must work to be more productive and efficient.
“Americans are demanding savings on their tax dollars,” Rep. Collins said.
The operations and construction teams at both Wilson Lock and Chickamauga Lock highlighted the statuses and aspects of both projects and were attentive in guiding Rep. Collins, Rep. Strong and staff members.
“The navigation operations teams and construction managers and engineers welcomed the Congressional delegation, and the Nashville District appreciates the opportunity to provide updates and respond to their concerns and questions,” said Lt. Col. Robert W. Green, Nashville District commander. “Keeping our elected officials informed helps them with prioritizing, authorizing, and funding the nation’s infrastructure projects.”
Rep. Collins oversees matters relating to water resources development, conservation and management, water pollution control and water infrastructure, and hazardous cleanup. One of the highest priorities of the Subcommittee is the regular passage of a Water Resources Development Act to continue improving America’s ports, locks, dams, inland waterways, and other water resources infrastructure.
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on X (formerly Twitter) at www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2025 14:30 |
| Story ID: | 494288 |
| Location: | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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