The USACE Memphis District awarded a contract to perform dike construction and maintenance at Donaldson Point, near New Madrid, Missouri (River Mile 903), August 24, 2022.
The Corps is partnering with Commercial Towing Interests, represented by the Lower Mississippi River Committee (LOMRC), to execute this $11,809,760 funded project.
According to Project Manager Zach Cook , “This work is needed in this reach of the river due to continued navigation concerns raised by towboat pilots during recent low water years. This area has also required repetitive dredging over the past few years as well.”
The funds provided for the work are a combination of Disaster Relief Supplemental Act of 2022 (DRSAA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) money allocated by Congress earlier this year.
Contractor, Luhr Bros., Inc. from Columbia, Illinois, will perform the construction work, which will consist of, “Placing approximately 316,000 tons of Graded Stone A (5,000 pound maximum stone size) to restore and raise four existing stone dikes and construct environmental notches in all four dikes for habitat diversity in the secondary side channel along the right descending bank,” Cook said.
“This dike project will work in conjunction with dike work completed earlier this spring at Below Island 9, Tennessee, to improve the channel crossing and low water navigation conditions in this reach of the Mississippi River.”
The project has a projected start date of December 2022 with an anticipated completion date of February 2023.