Work underway at Lock & Dam 7 near La Crescent (video)
View SourceLA CRESCENT, Minn. (WXOW) - While it looks like much is calm on the Mississippi River over the winter months, significant repairs are taking place on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam 7.
The $1.5 million maintenance project just north of La Crescent consists of newly fabricated anchorages, or more commonly known as the door hinges for the miter gates.
“It is deliberate maintenance to prepare for a future upgrade,” Jim Cook, Project Manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.
Installation of new miter gates, the giant doors that allow boats to pass through will occur this summer according to Cook. These will replace the original gates installed in the 1930’s.
“The structures are nearing the end of their design life. As part of a deliberate infrastructure upgrade program,” Cook said. “We’ve got new ones contracted. They're in fabrication and they’re coming in. This work to improve the hinges is to prepare for that work.”
Lock and Dam 7 sees about 4,360 barges and 2,462 recreation vessels pass through in a year according to statistics from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This traffic affects how work on the miter gates is done.
“We have to do this work in the winter because it shuts down the lock for a number of weeks. And the navigation industry, recreation, traffic on the river, we can’t afford to close it for that long of a period of time,” Cook stated.
The new miter gates will weigh more, be stronger and will provide easier access through the lock and dam.
“We’ve had some performance issues with these miter gates,” Mike Holzer, Civil Engineer with the U.S. Corp of Engineers said. “We’ve been operating on slow speed which is kind of and annoyance to some of the fishermen and pleasure boat users of this lock site. With the new gates going in, we’ll be able to get back to better performance and better longevity.”
This project is being funded from the recurring Corps of Engineers Budget from the federal government. Installation is slated to begin on the new miter gates beginning in July or August.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the next Lock and Dam scheduled for repairs is Lock and Dam 5 near Minnesota City. The work there is set for 2028.
