Projects & Studies
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Critical Infrastructure Security Program (CISP)
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Dam Bridge and Gate Painting: Upper St. Anthony Falls through Lock and Dam 10
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East Two Rivers at Tower, Minnesota
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Effects of Recreational Boating on the Upper Mississippi River System
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General Investigations: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC) Licensing
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General Investigations: Hydropower, Crown Hydro, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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General Investigations: Hydropower, Ford Plant, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Hydropower, LSAF Hydro, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Hydropower, Lock and Dam 2, Hastings, Minnesota
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Hydropower, Upper St. Anthony Falls, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Integrated Watershed Study: Minnesota River Basin in Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Iowa
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Lock & Dam 10 Stage 2
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Lock Tow Haulage Units
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Lock and Dam 4 Embankment Environmental Assessment
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Locks and Dams 2 - 10, Embankment Maintenance Study
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Lower Pool 4 Channel and Dredged Material Management Study
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McMillan Island, Mississippi River Channel Maintenance
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Minnesota River Navigation Project
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Mississippi Headwaters Reservoirs Dam Safety Issues
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Mississippi Headwaters Reservoirs Project Sites
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Mississippi River Locks and Dams Nos. 2-10 Embankment Rehabilitation
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Mississippi River Major Maintenance / Rehabilitation
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Mississippi River: Lock & Dam 3 Navigation Safety and Embankments, Minnesota and Wisconsin
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Navigation and Environmental Sustainability Program (NESP)
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Navigation, Mississippi River, Lock Bulkheads and Slot Installation, Minn/Wisc/Iowa
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Operation and Maintenance, Lock and Dam 10 Stage 2
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Reconnaissance Study: Minnesota River Basin in MN, SD, IA and ND
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Recreational Boating Study of the Mississippi River, Pools 4 to 9, Summer 2003
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River Resource Values and Expectation
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Small-Boat Harbor Dredging, St. Paul, Minnesota (Harbor Dredging)
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St. Croix River: Endangered Mussel Conservation - Zebra Mussel Control
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Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study
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Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Project - Locks & Dams
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Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Project Channel Maintenance; MN, WI, IA
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Warroad Harbor and River Harbor Dredging
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Lock Tow Haulage Units
Location/Description
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The St. Paul District operates and maintains 10 600-foot-long by 110-foot-wide locks on the Mississippi River, beginning with Lock and Dam 2 in Hastings, Minn., through Lock and Dam 10 in Guttenberg, Iowa.
As most tow lengths are greater than 600 feet, a double lockage must be performed to pass the tow through the lock chamber. This requires that the tow be separated at the break couplings into a 'first cut' of barges (unpowered) and a 'second cut' of barges with the towboat. In order for the 'first cut' of barges to exit the lock chamber, it must be pulled out of the lock chamber by a tow haulage unit (winch) and secured on the upper guidewall to make room in the lock chamber for the 'second cut' of barges and towboat. The tow haulage units are mounted on the landwall of the lock chamber, located just upstream of the upper miter gates.
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Status
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At locks and dams 2 through 10, the existing upstream tow haulage units to be replaced are electrically driven units. Individual electrical components for the existing units are no longer manufactured or available for replacement parts.
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During the design process for the replacement units, the a team coordinated with personnel from other Corps of Engineers' districts. The final analysis was to replace the existing electrically driven units with hydraulically driven units.
A contract was awarded in March 2001 to Almon Johnson Limited to provide two units, with options to provide up to eight more units, for a total of 10 units, which would cover all sites from locks and dams 2 through 10.
New hydraulic units were installed at locks and dams 3, 8 and 9. Seven more tow haulage units need to be procured, fabricated and installed in order to minimize the risk of increased lockage times to the towing industry. A failed tow haulage unit would require a towboat to 'double trip,' the term used when the towboat has to lock the 'first cut' of barges through the lock chamber, uncouple from the 'first cut,' lock back downstream, recouple with the 'second cut' of barges and lock back up through the lock chamber.
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The tow haulage units are a key piece of equipment that is relied upon to keep commercial navigation moving through the lock chambers in an efficient and cost-effective manner. As there are normally multiple tows traversing the waterways in both directions, the impacts to the industry due to a non-functioning tow haulage unit can quickly escalate as the increased waiting time for the lock chamber is compounded for each individual tow that has to 'double trip.'
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Fiscal
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The cost of one hydraulic unit is approximately $90,000. Upgrading this crucial piece of equipment is critical to being able to provide reliable service to the towing industry for the efficient and economical transportation of commodities along the inland waterways transportation system.
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[Printable Copy]
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