29 Apr 2024

Small Business are the Backbone of USACE Mission Delivery

To help deliver the mission the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leverages a unique expertise – small business professionals. Led by the Office of Small Business Programs, their job is to integrate small businesses capabilities into USACE projects. Small business professionals’ mission – to make outreach to small businesses bigger and better, bringing them in to add more value to the projects that the Corps of Engineers works on. To accomplish this task, outreach is being leveraged to lead the small business program into the future.

20 Oct 2022

New Lock at the Soo: Unlocking the Great Lakes

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District works on unlocking the Great Lakes by providing a much-needed resiliency at the Soo Locks with the construction of the New Lock at the Soo. The New Lock at the Soo will be the same dimensions as the Poe Lock, 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Often called the “linchpin” of the Great Lakes navigation system, the Soo Locks are located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan between the upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. The Soo Locks enable bulk carrier vessels to safely bypass the swift-moving St. Marys River rapids where the water drops 21 feet over bedrock in a three-quarter mile stretch. The St. Marys River is the only connecting waterway between Lakes Superior and the lower Great Lakes. Before the first lock was constructed in 1798, trade canoes had to be unloaded and portaged around the rapids, taking roughly six weeks to complete. Today, the locks operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 42 weeks of the year allowing government, commercial and private vessels to transit safely and more efficiently.

2 Sep 2022

ERDC, Buffalo District release dredged material guidance manual for Great Lakes region

Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Great Lakes Districts — Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago — recently released a technical report which provides guidance for evaluating the environmental suitability of dredged material in the Great Lakes region.

2 Sep 2022

ERDC, Buffalo District release dredged material guidance manual for Great Lakes region

Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Great Lakes Districts — Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago — recently released a technical report which provides guidance for evaluating the environmental suitability of dredged material in the Great Lakes region.

4 Mar 2022

Commitment to high-quality USACE bridge inspections

Structural cracks, buckled or bent steel, visual fretting corrosion – these are the kinds of things at the forefront of a bridge inspector’s mind. Oh, and don’t forget to quantify the severity and extent of all deficiencies. "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the highest of standards when it comes to safety inspections and bridge inspections are a big part of that,” according to Andy Wadysz. “Safety is paramount,” he stressed. Wadysz serves as the Detroit District’s Bridge Safety Program Manager, BSPM, for the past 22 years and respects the program’s commitment to high-quality. The primary purpose of the USACE Bridge Safety Program is to ensure all bridges within each district’s inventory are safe for their intended use. Bridge types vary from access bridges, railroad bridges, public pedestrian bridges to complex bridges. When conducting inspections and evaluations of a bridge site for user safety, there are specific requirements, detailed procedures and best practices that are closely adhered to for all bridge types.

16 Sep 2021

Logistics team removes area offices’ excess equipment

In the early morning hours of their five-day trip to Duluth, Minnesota, the Detroit District Logistics team were quietly loading excess equipment onto a flat-bed truck headed south. The equipment’s destination was the UNICOR facility in Kansas, an electronics recycling center that converts electronics into recyclable materials for resale to registered vendors. “By using UNICOR, we estimate $8,000 in savings to the district based on acquisition cost,” said Detroit District Logistics Manager Jena Graham. “Due to the area offices being spread out, it was not cost effective to consolidate their excess at one location for a typical pick-up.” A one-way trip from the District Headquarters in Detroit, Michigan to the Duluth Area Office in Minnesota is nearly a 12-hour drive.

7 Jul 2021

Developmental assignment offers growth, connection for USACE employee

DETROIT - He cannot get enough of the Great Lakes; some might say he’s hooked. By day, John Allis is the Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology Office Chief and by night, he enjoys being in, on or around the Great Lakes with his family. Allis’ office in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District handles a wide range of activities supporting the International Joint Commission, including water level forecasting, flow regulation and monitoring hydroclimate conditions across the Great Lakes. The Corps of Engineers has a reputation of success through skill development and knowledge gain. By design, district employees often have opportunities to do just that through developmental assignments. John recently completed a three-month developmental assignment as Chief of Water Management Division with the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division where he had much broader responsibilities.

28 Jun 2021

Corps of Engineers student trainee heads to med school

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., -A Lake Superior State University graduate is gaining valuable work experience with the U.S. Corps of Engineers’ Soo Area Office as an Industrial Hygienist-Intern before heading to medical school this fall. Sophie McConkey, a local to the Sault Ste. Marie area, found out about the Corps of Engineers’ student trainee internship through a friend of the family. She applied for the position in early 2020 as a chance to work in a field directly related to her degree and that offered her a chance to grow professionally in her area of study at Lake Superior State University. During an interview with Sophie about her time with the Corps of Engineers and her student trainee internship, she answered the following questions:

5 Mar 2021

Corps lowers impact to fish spawning near Soo Locks

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (March 5, 2021) - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officials will use dry blasting during New Lock at the Soo construction to avoid or drastically minimize impacts to fish larvae and adult fish spawning near the Soo Locks. The Soo Locks on the St. Marys River allow vessels to navigate the 21 ft elevation change between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. A new Poe-sized lock being built will provide necessary redundancy in the Great Lakes Navigation System’s critical infrastructure. To build the New Lock, deepening the channel on the upstream side (west) of the Poe lock is necessary. Dredging is scheduled to occur in 2021-2022.

21 May 2020

Employee Spotlight: Vicky Person

Vicky Person joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, team three years ago and has over 35 years of experience in the field of geotechnical, environmental and construction quality control in the Midwest.