Barge carrrying a 200-ton generator stator is the first to "lock through" the recently repaired Chickamauga Lock. The stator is on its way to the Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane Co. on the Clinch River. Repairs to the lock in Chattanooga were completed ahead of schedule today.The Chickamauga Lock reopened this afternoon, ending an unexpected 8-day shutdown of the river artery.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the 74-year-old lock at the Chickamauga Dam, was first in line with the reopened lock to use its Pioneer tugboat to push a 200-ton generator stator for service at the Kingston Fossil Plant upstream on the Clinch River.
Matt Emmons, lockmaster at the Chickamauga Dam, said repair crews have worked around the clock to assess and ultimately re-weld and upgrade a since cracked support beam on the anchors to the upper gate of the lock. The crack was discovered during a routine inspection last week.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the lock, worked with engineers from TVA to assess the damage and come up with a correction program by the end of last week.
Originally, the Corps had expected the lock could be out of service for up to three weeks of repairs. But the problem was fixed in less than half that time.
"We were able to reopen the lock at 1 p.m., eastern time, and we're working now to move the barges that have been held up for the past week to get through the lock," Emmons said.