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Tag: Mississippi River
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  • April

    Memphis District Hurley: Thawed out and ready to dredge

    During most off seasons, maintaining the Hurley takes a few months and a couple of crews to get everything done. This off-season was a bit different, as unexpected weather posed more obstacles than usual. Much of the south, including Memphis, Tennessee, was hit hard with frigid temperatures in mid-February this year. The last time Memphians experienced weather like this was in 1994.  From frozen pipes to no electricity, many people and structures were impacted by the icy weather, including the district’s Dredge Hurley.
  • Rescue revetment task order awarded

    The Memphis District recently awarded a task order to restore existing revetment and repair over-steepened banks along the Mississippi River in Coahoma County, Mississippi, and Phillips County, Arkansas. A total of $1,344,000 was awarded on the current River Repairs IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity) Contract to Midwest Construction Company.
  • Final levee system project on horizon as MVM completes preliminary projects

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District, in partnership with the Fulton County Board of Levee Commissioners (FCBLC), is nearing completion of two maintenance projects, the Island 8 Parcel 1 Relief Well Ditch Restoration Project and the Lake No. 9 Collector Ditch Erosion Repair Project, both located along the Mississippi River Mainline Levee south of Hickman, Kentucky. Completing these projects is essential, but what's even more important is what comes after. Once finished, the district will be that much closer to executing the last and final project needed to complete the entire levee system.
  • A Winter to Remember: Corps of Engineers continues annual winter maintenance fight to preserve aging infrastructure

    The American Society of Civil Engineers 2021 infrastructure report card released in March was less than perfect for the nation’s inland navigation system. According to the report, they gave the Inland waterway infrastructure a D+. The ASCE report said the infrastructure "includes locks and dams as well as navigation channels” but added that shipping delays cost up to $739 per hour for an average tow within the United States.
  • March

    Employee Spotlight: Carla Wells

    In any business, it’s the people that make it work. Without them, organizations ultimately fail. That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District values each and every one of its employees so much. To show how much we do, we highlight one employee every month by asking a few questions about the position they’re in and how they got to where they are today. This month, we are highlighting Carla Wells. She is a government purchase card business manager for the Contracting/Oversight Branch.
  • Revetment Team returns after historic season

    The Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Army (Civil Works) Vance Stewart and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations Maj. Gen. William (Butch) Graham visited the Memphis District last week. While visiting, they had the opportunity to welcome home and congratulate the Revetment Team after completing one of the district's longest seasons in history.
  • White River Backwater Levee Gravel Resurfacing a success

    Imagine it’s pouring rain for days on end, and you live near the Mississippi River. Not a far-fetched idea for many. With rain comes rising river waters and possible flooding. To prepare for such events, monitoring the river is essential but much harder to do if the levee surface isn’t safe for travel. That’s why projects like this one are important to the people living near and around the White River Backwater Levee.
  • December

    Hurley docked after another successful dredging season

    After almost eight months of dredging the Mississippi River, the Dredge Hurley and crew are now home where the Hurley is docked at Ensley Engineer Yard for some much-needed repairs and maintenance.
  • June

    Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Flood Risk Assessments

    This inter-agency pilot project developed map products to provide risk communication to communities in Illinois Mississippi Riverfront communities. Structural flood damage assessments for all structures were developed using multi-frequency flood depth grids. Survey data was collected for the lowest entry point and first floor elevation for all residential, commercial and industrial structures within the 1% annual chance exceedance floodplain. Parcel data, GIS data, and elevation certificate data that have been prepared for structures in the floodplain was obtained from county assessors.
  • May

    Metal Shop makings...

    Navigation is one of our oldest missions. We’re mandated by Congress to keep the Mississippi River open for commercial navigation by maintaining a 9-foot-deep and 300-foot-wide channel, and we do that by dredging on an annual basis. So, as one might imagine, dustpan dredge, the Hurley, gets used quite a bit keeping the Mississippi open, so our talented team at Ensley Engineer Yard have their work cut out for them keeping her running year after year. This brings us to the project Machinist Brandon Almeida is working on – it’s something the Dredge Hurley uses called “propeller rope guards.” He’s also making the mount needed to make the rope guards on – talk about complex work.
  • April

    Sandy Lake Dam Rehabilitation Project, Aitkin County, Minnesota

    Over its history, Sandy Lake Dam has undergone a series of modifications, repairs and periodic inspections. From 2011 to 2016, a series of above and below water inspections identified several features that had deteriorated to a point that repair or replacement were necessary to maintain the long-term stability of the structure. Sandy Lake Dam is located on the Sandy River in Aitkin County, Minnesota, 1.25 miles upstream of the junction between the Sandy River and Mississippi River.
  • Mississippi River: Lock and Dam 4 Winter Maintenance, Alma, Wisconsin

    Purpose of this project is to assure proper periodic maintenance and subsequent operation of the Lock and Dam 4 system. Lock and Dam 4 is located in Alma, Wisconsin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the facility in 1935 as part of the overall 9-foot channel navigation project, and it began operation in the same year.
  • March

    Lock and dam tow rail systems get upgrades

    The St. Paul District is investing more than $18 million in the tow rail system, vital pieces of equipment which assists tows locking through lock and dams when traveling upriver.
  • August

    Mississippi River Commission gains fresh perspective of Tennessee, Cumberland Rivers

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 14, 2015) – The Mississippi River Commission recently navigated the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers to gain a fresh perspective for the development of plans to improve the condition of the Mississippi River Basin, foster navigation, promote commerce, and reduce flood risk.
  • June

    Army Corps Dredge McFarland completes urgent dredging of Mississippi River

    Philadelphia District’s dredge McFarland completed urgent dredging at the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River.
  • May

    Corps invites public to hike rediscovered segment of Trail of Tears

    SMYRNA, Tenn. (May 13, 2015) – The forced removal of Cherokee Indians east of the Mississippi River in 1838 to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma is described by the Cherokee Nation today as the “trail where they cried.” A rediscovered segment of the Trail of Tears near the East Fork Recreation Area is providing new insight into what they experienced during the journey across Tennessee.
  • December

    Corps of Engineers promotes long-term dam safety by identifying problems, engineering solutions

    SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va.-- One of the most important missions the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers carries out is reducing the risk of flooding. The Summersville Dam here, the second largest earthen dam east of the Mississippi River, is designed to do just that by holding back water during heavy rain events.
  • November

    USACE, partners build Mississippi River islands to protect aquatic habitat

    A series of recently restored islands nestled along the Mississippi River near Lansing, Iowa, were merely a design a few years ago. The construction is a part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, also known as the Environmental Management Program. The program, according to Tom Novak, project management, is a multi-agency, multi-district program that is restoring aquatic habit along the river.
  • February

    Army Corps of Engineers completes first Lake Pepin ice measurements

    ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, recently completed the first ice measurements of the year on Lake Pepin, near Red Wing, Minn. The measurements help the navigation industry determine when it might be possible to get tows upstream to St. Paul, Minn.
  • August

    Lower Mississippi River would be four feet less mighty without Twin Rivers

    The lower Mississippi River would be four feet less mighty if not for the water storage reservoirs along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers and their tributaries that provide a stream of water management benefits.
  • Nashville mayor goes up river to see dam safety project

    Nashville Mayor Karl Dean visited Wolf Creek Dam Aug. 7, 2012 to see the ongoing foundation remediation construction, which is a dam safety project of vital importance to the citizens he represents 270 miles downstream.
  • President Obama appoints Peabody President of the Mississippi River Commission

    President Barack Obama appointed Maj. Gen. John W. Peabody as President of the Mississippi River Commission on August 6, 2012. MRC appointments are nominated by the President of the United States and subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
  • Higher headquarters observes how Cumberland River Basin supported Greater Mississippi River System

    When the lower Ohio and Mississippi Rivers experienced a flood of record in the spring of 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District supported the flood fight by holding back water at its dams in the Cumberland River Basin reservoir system.