The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District, Wynne Area Office, River Engineering and various construction partners recently delivered on yet another construction contract ahead of schedule, within budget and with zero safety incidents.
The purpose of the contract was to provide additional river bank protection for a recently constructed structure.
“There are a couple of locations upstream of the previously completed closure structure where the Mississippi River is trying to cut through and we want to prevent the flanking of that newly built structure,” Lead Technical Engineer Preston Snyder said. “This project provides additional protection of the river banks and the closure structure.”
With a budget of $893,760, scours were repaired by placing 36,400 tons of graded stone and performing 2,000 cubic yards of excavation at three locations on the Mississippi River.
The three locations repaired included mile 837.5 near Island 18 in Dyer County, Tennessee; Pemiscot County, Missouri; and near Island 11 Mississippi River Mile 882, New Madrid County, Missouri.
“This type of work provided critically needed repairs and bank paving to preserve and protect the integrity of the river’s top bank and preserve previously repaired flood damage repairs made near Island number 11 and 18 and Interstate Highway Bridge 155,” Wynne Area Engineer Loy Hamilton said. “This work is also essential as it directly supports the Corps Mississippi River Channel Improvement Mission.”
Stabilization and protection of the riverbanks are important to the flood control and navigation components of the Mississippi River & Tributaries project. Channel improvement and stabilization measures serve to protect flood control features and to ensure the desired alignment of the river's navigation channel.