TVA to replace upstream navigation wall
FLORENCE —Wilson Lock reopened July 1 after undergoing major repairs, but it’s scheduled to close again to allow the Tennessee Valley Authority to install a temporary upper guide wall to replace the floating concrete navigation pier that sank almost four years ago.
The 600-foot by 110-foot lock was closed for roughly 10 months to allow repairs to the main lock chamber’s downstream gate.
Among the first barges to lock through are three “spud barges” that will be used as a temporary upstream guide wall.
The navigation pier, which helps barge tows enter and exit the lock chamber, sank in August 2021 in about 75 feet of water.
A spud barge is a work deck barge that is held in place by vertical steel shafts known as spuds. The spud holds the barge in place.
The spud barges have been under construction and the work was pushed back to fall of this year.
“TVA plans to implement the interim solution for the Wilson Lock guard wall, an interlocking system of three ocean barges,” TVA Senior Communications Consultant Clarissa McClain said. “The interim solution is designed to last between five to 10 years and will allow normal operations to resume,” McClain said.
TVA estimated a permanent replacement for the pier could cost up to $85 million in August 2023.
Cline Jones, the executive director of the Tennessee River Valley Association, said once the new guide wall is in place, the lock will open to normal operations.
Helper tugboats have been used to assist barge tows locking through the dam.
Jones said the main lock and the two-stage auxiliary lock will be in operation to clear the barge traffic that has been backed up for months.
The queue of barge traffic will be cleared prior to closing on July 14 to allow contractors to install the interim upstream floating guide wall, according to a Corps of Engineers news release. That work is expected to be completed by June 27.
The two-tier auxiliary lock chamber will remain open to lock smaller tows and recreation vessels, according to the release.
Recreational vessels will be locked solely through the auxiliary chamber from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
