GRAND RIVERS, Ky. (July 21, 2023) – The Inland Waterways Users Board checked on the progress of the Kentucky Lock Addition Project this week as part of its visit to the region for a board meeting in nearby Paducah, Kentucky.
The IWUB is an advisory board established to monitor the Inland Waterways Trust Fund and to make recommendations to the Army and to Congress on investment priorities to support inland navigation infrastructure needs using resources from the fund. Inland navigation projects such as Kentucky Lock are cost shared 65% by federal government and 35% by the IWTF, which generates its revenues from a 29-cent tax on marine diesel fuel.
Board members toured the active Kentucky Lock and observed ongoing construction of a larger 1,200-foot by 110-foot navigation lock during their visit July 19 to the project on the Tennessee River. The Kentucky Lock Addition Project is about 22 miles from where the river flows into the lower Ohio River.
The IWUB advisory board rotated through six stations where U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District project managers and technical experts briefed them on topics like efficiently placing mass concrete, engineering and designing the project, managing the scope of remaining work, operating the operational navigation lock in close proximity to ongoing construction, staying aware of site geology conditions, and safeguarding people, structures and resources with dam safety and stability controls and risk management as work progresses.
Spencer Murphy, IWUB chairman, expressed his appreciation to the dozen presenters for providing detailed information the group needs to advise Congress, and added that what they are doing at Kentucky Lock is on the very cutting edge of what the IWUB Advisory Board cares about.
“We pay a fuel tax on our boats that goes into a trust fund. So every dollar spent out here is cost shared, so we have a vested interest in making sure that these projects get built on time and within budget,” Murphy said. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is. So when we meet with the Corps that is part of what we are doing… checking on our investments.”
The contractor, Thalle Construction, is constructing the $380 million downstream lock monoliths. This work is estimated for completion in May 2027. Future work at the lock includes installation of the approach walls, electrical and mechanical work, building construction, bridge construction, movement of utilities, and site development.
The Nashville District currently forecasts the new lock chamber to be operational in 2029-2030 and the overall project to be completed in the 2031 timeframe.
More than 26 million tons of commercial cargo and goods valued at more than $10 billion pass through Kentucky Lock annually. The average delay for commercial tows through the 600-foot active navigation lock exceeds 10 hours, some of the longest delay times in the system. Tows that are greater than 600-feet have to perform a time-consuming double lockage, which contributes to the lengthy delays. While the old lock can hold nine barges, the new lock will accommodate 15 barges.
Elizabeth Burks, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s chief of Integrated Project Office, who is responsible for overseeing the Kentucky Lock Addition Project and Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project, accompanied the IWUB Advisory Board and also provided input and answered questions.
She said the existing lock is too small to meet current and future traffic demands without significant delays, and that the Corps of Engineers has remained resilient through inflationary impacts, labor increases, and supply chain issues to keep the construction project moving forward.
“Our objective hosting the IWUB Advisory Board involved making sure this important body of industry leaders could see the footprint of the project, obtain relevant information, have opportunity to ask questions, and receive responses on the spot from the team working to deliver this construction project,” Burks said.
Standing on the downstream portion of the coffer dam overlooking construction, Maj. Gen. Butch Graham, deputy chief of engineers and deputy commanding general for USACE, lauded the amazing engineering and design work that is now being showcased with construction and visibility of the downstream monoliths.
“It’s important that we tell them (IWUB Advisory Board) our story about what the team is doing here, the challenges of this construction, and the magnitude of it,” said Graham, who also serves as the IWUB executive director. “There’s no better way of doing that than connecting them to the amazing Nashville District professionals who are doing the work.”
The general said the board is most interested in eventually getting the navigation lock completed and operational so the barge industry can see the wait times to navigate through the lock go from some of the highest in the Inland Waterway System, to no wait times.
“That is really important to the industry, and that helps to solidify why we are investing a billion and a half dollars in this 1,200-foot chamber here in Kentucky,” Graham added.
The IWUB Advisory Board reached a milestone with its 100th meeting July 20 at the Paducah McCracken County Convention & Expo Center where the board received updates on the status of the trust fund, navigation funding in the fiscal year 2024 president’s budget, and low water actions for 2023.
House Resolution 6, otherwise known as the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, established a fuel tax and cost sharing formulas for the construction of harbors, inland waterway transportation, and flood control projects. It also created the IWUB to advise and make recommendations to Congress.
The first ever meeting of the IWUB Advisory Board took place in 1987. Fast forward 36 years later, the 100th IWUB meeting took place with very little pomp and circumstance on reaching the milestone as Corps of Engineers representatives briefed board members on the status of infrastructure projects that are in planning stages or underway. These include Monongahela River Lock and Dam’s 2-3-4 Replacements, replacement of lock at Upper Ohio River Montgomery Locks and Dam, Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project, Illinois Waterway Consolidated Closure, construction of new lock at Mississippi River Lock 25, construction of new lock at Illinois Waterway Lagrange Lock, upgrade infrastructure at Brazos River Flood Gates and Colorado River Locks, preservation of navigation on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, and status of Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock and Bayou Sorrel Lock activities.
Jaime A. Pinkham, principal deputy for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, attended and said he was grateful for the tour at Kentucky Lock, and for the dialogue it created about the challenges that the team faces.
He said the navigation system being developed needs to be more resilient and adaptive to climate, and solutions to challenges such as labor shortages and competitiveness need to be realized through effective partnerships and dialogue.
Pinkham said he is also relying on the IWUB to take part soon in reviewing and commenting on industry specific procedures around principal requirements and guidelines that are balanced, fair and equitable for communities that are most at risk, a major rule making effort that is currently under interagency review.
“So, I’m asking you” … “as you look at the comprehensive study, as we look at principal requirements and guidelines,” to help shape these procedures and bring them to fruition, Pinkham said.
In the same line of helping communities, the meeting highlighted another initiative by another federal agency designed to help the public understand the value of the inland waterways and navigation.
Tretha Chromey, representing the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s deputy administrator for ports and waterways, presented the recently published United States Marine Highway Program website at https://www.maritime.dot.gov/grants/marine-highways/marine-highway. The resource is designed to expand use of navigable waters, and features current marine highway routes, including locks and dams using geographic information system technology.
“We’re still incorporating other data, but it is an exciting opportunity for when you are looking at projects, or future projects, includes locks and dams, and other layers and information for your awareness,” Chromey said.
The Nashville District provided planning, administrative, and technical support for the 100th IWUB Advisory Board meeting, and district leadership participated.
Lt. Col. Robert Green, Nashville District commander, spoke during the meeting and said that partnerships are incredibly important and that the district works hard to partner with the public, local authorities, elected representatives, industry, and contractors delivering projects.
“Meetings like this are a prime example of what effective partnerships can be,” Green said. “Through transparency, mutual accountability, we are able to deliver for the region and for the public at large.”
The IWUB board members included Chairman Spencer Murphy with Canal Barge Company, Inc., in New Orleans, Louisiana, Vice Chairman Damon Judd with Marquette Transportation Company, LLC, in Paducah, Kentucky; Martin Hettel with American Commercial Barge Line, LLC, in Jeffersonville, Indiana; David Loomes with Continental Cement Company in Chesterfield, Missouri; Crystal Taylor with Ingram Barge Company in Nashville, Tennessee; Dennis Oakley with Bruce Oakley, Inc., in North Little Rock, Arkansas; Timothy Power with SCF Marine, Inc., in St. Louis, Missouri; Lance Rase with CGB Enterprises, Inc., in Covington, Louisiana; Robert Rich with Shaver Transportation Company in Portland, Oregon; Jeff Webb with Cargill, Inc., Cargo Carriers, Cargill Marine and Terminal, in Wayzata, Minnesota; and W. Matthew Woodruff with Kirby Corporation in Houston, Texas.
The public can get more information about IWUB, its board members, its meetings, fuel taxed waterways, status of the trust fund, and Congressional communications at https://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Inland-Waterways-Users-Board/. The site also includes the annual report to Congress, information about Corps of Engineers representatives and federal observers, and request for nominations. Meeting agendas, presentations, and meeting minutes are also available to the public.
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 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.