We are the PCXIN, an LRH line element, a Great Lakes & Ohio River Division (LRD)functional center of expertise responsible for support to all Districts within the LRD. These responsibilities pertain to both pre- and post-authorization planning studies. The Center is also responsible for the Waterborne Commerce Statistics Program in the Great Lakes and Ohio River basins and for miscellaneous interdisciplinary studies and research. The Center
The core planning team is made up primarily of economists, engineers, and operations research analysts from the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Navigation Planning Center located in Huntington, West Virginia. The Center is augmented by USACE personnel, with navigation planning experience in Louisville, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago.
Finally, the Center has a -virtual team- component that includes inland navigation experts from around the country. The Virtual Team adds to the robustness of center. Laboratories, educational institutions, and stakeholder groups expand the pool of expertise. The current LRD Navigation Planning Center has access to this expertise at the following sources:
a. Tennessee Valley Authority b. Oak Ridge National Laboratory c. Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute
The major functions provided by the PCXIN include the development, application, maintenance and refinement of the analytic tools and data bases necessary for evaluating the impacts (including benefits) of alternative future conditions within the Great Lakes Navigation System (GLNS) and Ohio River System (ORS) for both operational and planning purposes. Similar services in support of navigation studies and evaluations are provided for other Corps districts, as necessary, under separate Scopes of Work negotiated with the requesting office.