Congressmen tour Wilson Dam lock repairs

FLORENCE — U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, is in the trucking business, so he has firsthand knowledge of how important it is to get goods from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible.

That’s why he wanted to join U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Alabama, on a tour of Wilson Lock so he could see the massive downstream lock gate repair project close up.

“I know how important it is to keep commerce flowing up and down these rivers and to keep our economy improving and getting back on track,” Collins said, standing a few feet from the massive main Wilson Dam lock that has been closed since September. “But we wanted to come up and get an update.”

CONTRIBUTED/DAN BUSEY – Work to repair the main lock at Wilson Dam continues in Florence.

Wilson Lock has been closed since late September when damage to the downstream gates was discovered.

Collins said he and Strong had a break from Congress and was able to schedule a visit to be briefed on the repairs being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great lakes and Ohio River Division’s Regional Rivers Repair Fleet.

Collins is the chairman of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.

Stephen Porter, chief of the Rivers Repair Fleet, said there are about 60 people working on the project, including engineers, divers, welders, boat operators and maintenance workers.

He said they’re working two shifts to get the lock reopened.

Porter said there are normally about 20 people working at a time.

They work 11 days then have three days off, he said.

“We’ve got a floating machine shop down there,” Porter said.

While TVA is fabricating parts at the Power Service Shop, Porter said some other damaged parts found during the repair were fabricated at the Corps’ Marietta Repair Station in Marietta, Ohio.

“You’re talking more than $100 million damage here,” Strong said. “The big thing we’re trying to do is meet commerce’s demands. You start looking, not only agriculture, steel, but you look at national security. We’re just a matter of miles from 2.4 million square feet under roof at United Launch Alliance — the largest rocket plant in the world.”

“They navigate this water also,” Strong said.

Collins said there are a lot of small businesses who move barges up and down the Tennessee River.

“The longer they have to sit and wait, sometimes up to 20 hours to get these barges through, that makes an impact on them as well,” Collins said. “We need to make sure we do our part. And my part is to oversee the Army Corps of Engineers as it applies to water resources. So, we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to get commerce back to normal.”

He said some shipping companies have told him they may have to charge “way more” to move goods above Wilson Lock and Dam or “they’re going to take other avenues.”

“You can only sit for so long,” Collins said.

Collins said he was told Friday the Corps is pleased with the progress of the repairs, which are scheduled to be completed by June 14.

“TVA has been manufacturing a lot of the components that are going to be put back in those hinges,” Collins said.

He said that has helped the Corps complete the repairs quicker.

Cline Jones, executive director of the Tennessee River Valley River Association, provided an update on the progress of the repairs prior to Strong’s visit.

He said some equipment being used in the lock had to be removed after periods of heavy rainfall the week of March 13.

The lock chamber had to be filled with water, but a caisson that was placed in the lock when it was dewatered didn’t have to be removed.

“Water levels receded mid-week last week and pumps were reset,” Jones said. “Chamber was dewatered and equipment was returned to the chamber.”

On Friday, the lock chamber was dry, revealing the bare stone at the bottom and rows of valves that fill and drain the lock chamber.

He said the repair team has resumed making weld repairs to the lock gates.

The repair team began the installation of the gate jacking guides and supports in preparation for the gate lifting operations scheduled to begin the first of the week.

“The overall schedule remains unaffected by last week’s high flow conditions,” Jones. He said five of seven builtin contingency days have been used up.

Jones said the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Power Service Shop remains on schedule for machining “pintile” components for the lock gates.