Construction continues on the dewatered Chickamauga Lock to repair issues including binding hinges on the downstream main gates, spot welding cracks in metal hardware, gasket replacement, and other necessities to allow the waterway to continue operating safely.Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Mary Headrick said this week she would support a barge fuel tax increase to finance repair and construction at Chickamauga lock.
“The Chickamauga lock should be replaced,” she said in a statement. “Until replaced, it should be repaired and remain in operation. … I favor increasing the marine diesel fuel per gallon tax, as favored by barge operators.”
In doing so, the Maynardville, Tenn., Democrat and acute care physician defied her opponent, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, who has rejected a barge tax increase from 20 cents to 29 cents per gallon of diesel fuel. But the freshman Republican has opposed tax increases of any kind, partially owing to a political pledge he signed.
Fleischmann’s opposition has also put him at odds with members of the barge industry who have expressed a willingness to pay more taxes if it translates to consistent maintenance and quicker replacement. Funding has dried up on both fronts, and the lock continues to deteriorate as a chemical reaction weakens its bulky concrete frame. The structure allows barges to move through TVA’s dam system toward 318 miles of upstream Tennessee River water.
The tax wedge between Fleischmann and Headrick represents a difference in philosophy in solving one of the 3rd Congressional District’s biggest infrastructure problems. While Headrick has floated a tax increase, “very low-cost bond opportunities” and block grants to finance lock replacement needs, Fleischmann has focused on a single idea.