Wilson Lock Repairs Continue As Corps Navigates Credit Card Policy Changes
The main navigational lock at Wilson Locks and Dam has been dewatered, and repairs remain on schedule, with the Corps of Engineers reassuring stakeholders that recent new restrictions on Government Travel Credit Cards (GTCCs) and Government Purchase Credit Cards (GPCCs) should not affect the project.
Brian Mangrum, chief of the Nashville Engineer District’s technical support branch, said in an industry call March 11 that, while the Corps has received recent guidance about the use of the cards, which are used to pay for hotels and other expenses, “We are actively working through those exemption processes that have been laid out by the agency. We have continued to get additional clarification and guidance as that has moved along.”
The regional heavy capacity fleet working on the repairs at Wilson, located at Tennessee River Mile 259.4 in Florence, Ala., is from Louisville, Ky., and is staying in hotels while repairs are being made at the lock.
On March 7, the Tennessee River Valley Association (TRVA) alerted its members that without a waiver work at Wilson Lock could be halted immediately, and the fleet could be ordered to return to its home port. Cline Jones, TRVA’s executive director, urged immediate efforts to address the situation.
On March 8, Stephen Porter, chief of the regional repair fleet, said in an email sent to a member of Congress who had inquired on behalf of the TRVA that there would be no interruption and that a GTCC freeze exemption request had been submitted through Corps of Engineers headquarters on behalf of the regional repair fleet.
“Work will continue as scheduled in the interim,” he said in the email.
Porter noted in the email that regional repair fleet personnel are on temporary duty for roughly 270 days per year completing missions, including currently at Wilson and at the New Cumberland Lock and Dam on the Ohio River. Additionally, he noted that the fleet was due to begin work March 10 at Cheatham Lock and Dam on the Cumberland River in Tennessee, along with Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam on the Apalachicola River in Florida, at the Allatoona Dam in Georgia and at the Summersville Dam in West Virginia.
“Properly functioning GTCCs and Government Purchase Credit Cards (GPCC) are critical tools that allow us to complete our mission safely and efficiently as we make our waterways safer, stronger and more resilient to ensure commerce thrives throughout the nation,” Porter said in the email.
Mangrum assured the group of more than 40 people on the March 11 industry call that work was continuing.
“I think the important thing to know is that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remains committed to minimizing disruptions and ensuring that continued progress of the Wilson Lock repairs continues to move forward,” he said. “Leadership throughout the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers views our commitment to meet our milestones at Wilson Lock as mission essential and has advised us to proceed with those repairs until told otherwise, so the work at Wilson Lock has continued as planned throughout the weekend, and we continue to keep moving forward.”
Mangrum said the lock was dewatered on schedule.
“The crew has been lifting equipment into the chamber to begin work and is proceeding with making weld repairs to the gate actively, as we speak,” he said.
A tour for interested industry stakeholders has been scheduled at Wilson for March 27. A separate tour for elected officials is also being assembled, Mangrum said.
Fabrication of gate supports to brace the chamber’s cracked lower miter gates was expected to be complete March 12, said Nikki Berger, navigation program supervisor for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which owns the locks and dams on the Tennessee River. The TVA power services shop is fabricating the components needed for repairs.
Mangrum said he expected delivery of gate support components on March 13 and installation on March 17.
“The bottom line is all critical path activities are on target at this time,” he said.
Repairs are scheduled to be complete June 14. The lock chamber closed September 25 after operators heard popping noises associated with cracking in the gate components. A dewatering and inspection later showed major cracks in components of both lower gates’ pintles, the hinges on which they swing. The Corps determined the chamber was too dangerous to be used and has been locking traffic through the auxiliary chamber, which fits one standard-sized barge at a time. The need to order and fabricate parts, find funding and alter the fleet’s repair schedule, along with a brief period of high water, prevented repairs from beginning until early this month.
Meagan Simpson, the Nashville Engineer District’s maintenance section chief, said Corps representatives traveled to the TVA shop last week and inspected the pintle castings. Rough machining of them has been completed, with final work to take place once the old pintles are out and can be compared exactly to their replacements.
