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Client: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Location: Olmsted, Illinois, United States
Project Type: Civil/Heavy
Contract Amount: $564,000,000 USD
Delivery Method: General Contracting
Project Size: N/A
Start Date: April 2004
Estimated Completion Date: December 2013
Architect/Engineer: A Joint Venture of Jacobs and Gerwick
Participating Alberici Enterprises
Markets Served
Olmsted Lock and Dam
Washington Group Alberici (WGA), a joint venture of Washington Group and Alberici Constructors, was awarded the construction contract for a new lock and dam on the Ohio River at Olmsted, Illinois. The project will replace Locks and Dams 52 and 53. The project consists of two 110' x 1,200' locks and a dam comprised of 5 tainter gates, 1,400' of boat-operated wickets and a fixed weir.
The existing Locks 52 and 53 are deteriorating structurally and are not capable of handling the projected river commerce without significant delays. In 2001, the tonnage at Locks and Dam 52 totaled 96.7 million tons of commerce. By the year 2020, projected commerce to be handled by the new lock and dam will be 130 million tons.
WGA is utilizing a unique “wet” construction approach on the project. Utilizing a concrete batch plant that has been set-up adjacent to the river, WGA will operate a precast operation for the production of 47 concrete shells, the largest of which will weigh in excess of 2,700 tons. The shells which are approximately 75' wide 75' long and 75' tall will be lifted by a 5100-ton super-gantry crane on power-driven wheels and slowly moved to a lifting frame cradle at the river's edge.
Once on the cradle, a catamaran barge in the river will pick the shell off the cradle and transport the shell to its final position in the river. Once in final position, Tremie Concrete will be placed between the shell and the prepared river bed. This process will be completed until the dam reaches from one side of the river to the other.
Although WGA mobilized on the site in 2004, the Corps broke ground for the project in 1996 and estimates the total project cost to exceed $1.4 billion when it is completed in 2013.