The long-delayed construction of a new lock at the Chickamauga Dam is about to get noisier as blasting starts to help dig up the riverbed where the new and bigger lock is taking shape.
Kesco Inc., a blasting contractor from Zelienopie, Pa., will soon begin blasting the riverbed in the coffer dam erected below the dam to house the new 110-foot-by-600-foot lock.
Adam Walker, the project manager for the Chickamauga lock replacement project, said the lock excavation contractor, Heeter Geotechnical Construction, will establish the dates for the blasting according to their construction work schedule. Although the Army Corps of Engineers has not yet set the date to start the blasting, officials said it should begin within the next few weeks.
“Blasting dates are subject to completion of other construction activities leading up to the start of blasting such as completion of rock anchor installation along the existing cofferdam walls for a minimum of 250 linear feet from the blast location, and government approval of relevant blasting submittals,” Walker said.
The rock blasting is more efficient and effective than mechanical removal of the riverbed bottom, Walker said.