Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
Corps of Engineers invites the public to attend the Lock and Dam 3 navigation safety project dedication
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, invites the public to attend a project dedication and open house at Lock and Dam 3, near Red Wing, Minn., May 31 at 9 a.m.
The district recently completed nearly $70 million in improvements to the lock, and the work was completed without closing the lock to the navigation industry and pleasure craft operators. The project was also unique in the fact that it was the first time the district finished a plan as a design-build contract. This allowed the contractor to expedite the project delivery schedule.
Project improvements at the facility help navigation tow captains deal with unfavorable currents as a result of the lock being located on a bend in the river. The navigation improvements include an 862-foot-long guide wall extension, a closure dike that reduces adverse currents near the guide wall, channel dredging and the placement of approximately 150,000 cubic yards of material.
In addition to the navigation improvements, the Corps upgraded the natural embankments on the Wisconsin-side of the river. The lower embankment improvements include several thousand linear feet of earthwork and rock protection, concrete spillways and associated water-level control structures. The upper embankments improvements include reconstructing nine channel closures and rock protection near the dam. Collectively, these improvements reduce the risk of a catastrophic failure to the dam, which would rapidly reduce the water level within Pool 3.
Following the dedication, the public will be invited to view the improvements and visit the observation deck, which was closed for the past three years during the construction. The lock address is 4330 Lock & Dam Road, Welch, Minn.
The nearly 700 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
-30-
Website: http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/usace.saintpaul
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usace-stpaul/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/usacemvppao
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StPaulUSACE | @StPaulUSACE
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
