The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District placed the 10th and final concrete shell on the downstream riverbed Feb. 2, 2020. Johnson Brothers, contractor for the cofferdam contract, set down the 1.7-million pound shell that is part of the cofferdam and a permanent part of the new lock wall for the Kentucky Dam Lock Addition Project. With the placement, the cofferdam project is 73 percent complete. (USACE video by Leon Roberts)

Brittany Scruggs, public affairs specialist with the Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sits down with Brad Hartell, construction manager for the new William Beaumont Army Medical Center on Fort Bliss in EL Paso, Texas. Intro Narration: William Beaumont Army Medical Center will be comprised of 10 operating rooms and will have 30 specialty clinics to include women’s health services, behavioral health, physical and occupational therapy, gastroenterology, oncology, hematology, general surgery family medicine vascular surgery, plastic surgery and more. Project will also include a full array of imaging services, inpatient and outpatient pharmacy, laboratory, patient administration, logistics, dining facility, administration and limited retail. Project additionally supports 15 graduate medical education nursing and enlisted training programs. Brittany Scruggs: Hi; can you tell me your name and what you do? Brad Hartell: My name is Brad Hartell; I am the construction manager for the Fort Bliss replacement hospital project. BS: Ok; why did DoD decide to replace the old hospital? BH: The existing William Beaumont hospital is over 40 years old it’s on a constraint site separate from Fort Bliss proper. So the desire was to get a new medical complex with a capacity-the appropriate capacity for the amount of soldiers on base closer to the soldier family population. BS: OK; what will set this one apart from other hospitals in the country? BH: So this is a world-class medical facility complex. It has the capability of serving both inpatient and outpatient; for that reason it’s very efficient for the soldiers and their families. It is just a fabulous fine complex that’s going to be delivered here. BS: OK; what are some of the biggest challenges you faced along the way with the project and then how if you been able to overcome them? BH: So a facility like this within the government is considered what we call a megaproject. It is so huge; that’s why it gets that classification. And with that comes complexity because of the size. Additionally because it is a medical facility there is significant complexities with regard to design and construction associated with that. So throughout the life of the project we have had design revisions that the team has determined we needed to incorporate to make sure that we got the facility right. The project delivery team was very committed, has been very committed, to work together to overcome those challenges. BS: OK; do you have any final remarks that you want to let our audience know about the Fort Bliss replacement project? BH: So, again, there’s been just a tremendous amount of effort put into this project. We’ve had a great team of professionals working on it, and tradesmen working on it. The motto of our team has always been one team-one mission building a world class medical hospital complex for our soldiers and families. We’ve just always maintained that focus-delivering a high-quality product for our families and soldiers. I’m proud to be part of this project. BS: Awesome! Well thank you so much, Brad, for taking time to discuss the William Beaumont Fort Bliss replacement hospital project and I know the community is looking forward to seeing the final product. Check out our official website: https://www.swf.usace.army.mil Follow and like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usacefortworth …and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usacefortworth ...and on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/USACE_FortWorth Business inquiries email: public.affairs@usace.army.mil

Col. James Handura, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Commander, joined congressional representatives and federal, state and local partner agencies Jan. 21, 2020, for a ceremonial groundbreaking at Folsom Lake, Calif., where USACE will construct the Folsom Dam Raise project to help further reduce flood risk in the Greater Sacramento region. Learn more here: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Folsom-Dam-Raise/

Jason Shea, project manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, discusses the ongoing beach restoration work as part of the Sandy Hook to Barnegat Inlet N.J. Coastal Storm Risk Management and Erosion Control Project. This particular contracted work includes beach restoration at Sea Bright, Monmouth, and Long Branch beaches. (by: Hector Mosley, public affairs specialist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District)