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Olmsted Dam Features State of the Art Technology

Olmsted Dam Features State of the Art Technology
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By Mike Cooper
Jul. 20, 2018 | OLMSTED
By Mike Cooper Jul. 20, 2018 | 08:18 PM | OLMSTED
The Army Corps of Engineers held an information session Friday afternoon at the new Olmsted Lock and Dam.

Friday's session was moderated by Chief of Engineers and USACE Commanding General, Lieutenant General Todd Semonite, Commander Great Lakes/Ohio Division Engineer, Major General Mark Toy, and Louisville District Commander, Colonel Antoinette "Toni" Gant.

Lieutenant General Semonite explained that the Olmsted Lock and Dam is the nation's largest inland navigation civil works project. It represents generations of innovative modernization efforts to help secure the nation through infrastructure. Its two new 1,200-foot locks and 2,500-foot dam, across the river at Olmsted, IL will help with the efficient movement of more than 90 million tons of commerce, worth more than $10 billion annually. This efficient transporting of goods impacts American's lives every day.

Colonel Gant explained that The Olmsted Lock and Dam, replacing the older existing Locks 52 and 53 at Brookport, will increase reliability of navigation. From a regional and national perspective, the Corps continues to ensure the Olmsted project remains a priority and a critical national economic driver. She pointed out that when operational, the time to traverse the new dam will be approximately 30 minutes, compared with up to 1 hour and 30 minutes for each of the older ones, (Locks 52 and 53). Lieutenant General Semonite stressed that this can potentially save up to 2 1/2 hours of navigation time, and unscheduled down times for Olmsted will be far less than that of the older ones, which will also improve navigation time.

Major General Mark Toy spoke of how this project has had much cooperation between the Corps of Engineers and private sector partners which has led to many improvements. He praised the hard work of all those that have participated and explained how this helps the entire nation because of the economic impact. More tonnage passes through this point than any other place in the nation's inland navigation system and 25% of all coal shipped goes through this portion of the Ohio River.

The entire project took 30 years to complete, mostly due to funding issues with each different Congress. It will use cutting edge technology, including GPS systems for wicket control, using taller, concrete wickets, compared with the existing wooden wickets currently in use at Locks 52 and 53, that were built in 1929. The project represents over 45 million labor hours and stands as an example of the benefits provided from work done by the Corps on the nation's critical inland waterways.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Olmsted Lock and Dam is scheduled for 10:00 am on August 29th.
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