The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded the final contract for the billion-dollar replacement of the Chickamauga lock, a step that one industry observer said marks a milestone for the two-decade project.
C.J. Mahan Construction Co., an Ohio-based business, will receive a more than $192 million base contract to construct the downstream approach walls, bring the new lock to operation and remove a cofferdam, an enclosure built to allow crews to work on the replacement facility, according to a press release from the Corps. Crews will also breach the existing dam to connect the upstream approach to the new lock.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson referred questions about the contract to a press release issued earlier this month.
“We are proud to award this contract for this important navigation infrastructure project,” Lt. Col. Guillermo Guandique, the Nashville District commander for the Corps, said in the press release. “The entire (Corps) team managing this project is ready to work with our contract partner and move the project to the finish line and deliver a new and larger operational lock.”
(READ MORE: Costs of new Chickamauga lock triple over time)