A.       PROJECT DESCRIPTION                                                 

Kentucky Lock is located in western Kentucky at Mile 22.4 of the Tennessee River.  A feasibility report completed in 1992 recommended a new 110' x 1200' lock adjacent and landward of the existing 110' x 600' lock.  The project was authorized for construction in WRDA 96 and construction commenced in July 1998.  Based on an expected funding level of $25.2M (Appropriated $30M minus Savings & Slippage), our FY 01 spending plan is provided below:

                        $  4.5M                In-house design and management

                        $  1.2M                Other Corps

                        $  0.5M                TVA in-house

                        $  7.5M                A/E Contract Design

                        $11.5M                     Construction and Real Estate Acquisition.

B.            GENERAL

Significant activities, issues raised, and decisions made during the month on the project include :

·        FY 02 Funding Outlook – There was no apparent congressional activity over the last month on the funding of the Project.  It is expected that the Conference Committee will meet in September to determine the Project’s FY 02 funding to include in the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.

·        Bid Opening Results –  The same company was the apparent low bidder for the two bid openings held in August, C.J. Mahan Construction Company of Grove City, OH.  Pertinent results of the bid openings:

Upstream Cofferdam            Bridges’ Substructures

Low Bid                                       $11.3M              $36.6M             

Next Low Bid                            $14.5M              $37.8M

Government Estimate          $15.6M              $31.6M

If C.J. Mahan meets all contracting requirements, these two contracts should be awarded before the end of September.

Construction activities:

·        TVA Transmission Towers –  TVA essentially completed all tower relocation efforts by the end of August, about one month ahead of schedule.  TVA’s Heavy Equipment Division is continuing the construction of the tied-back sheet pile retaining wall to protect the three downstream 69 kV transmission towers.   About 15%-20% of the Z-piles have been driven.

·        West Bank Hwy/RR Embankment – Murray Paving continued construction of the combined embankment located to the east of the existing railroad embankment in July and reinitiated fill placement and culvert placement on the highway embankment to the west of the existing railroad embankment.  The placement of the lightweight fill for the highway embankment over the clay pipe toe-drain area was also initiated.  This $5.9M contract is approximately 41% complete.

·        Benton Wetlands – After coordination with the Small Business Administration, it was decided to advertise this contract as a small business set-aside.  A Commerce Business Daily notice was published on August 16 and this contract is expected to be advertised starting the week of 10 September for a 30 day period.

C.            PROGRESS FOR THE MONTH:

Environmental/Recreation

·        Mussel Mitigation –   All underwater survey work has been completed and report compilation is ongoing.

·        Tailwater Fishing Mitigation (West Bank Jetties) – The mussel relocation efforts within the proposed jetties’ footprints were completed on 24 August.  Approximately 53,897 mussels were relocated, significantly less than the 75,000 estimated based on an initial survey.  Conflicts between several topographic surveys delayed the final drawings on the jetties; however, they have since been completed and efforts are underway to modify Murray Paving’s contract to have the jetties constructed.

·        New Borrow Site Environmental Assessment – Murray Paving, Inc. has requested the use of a new borrow site to supplement the soil needed to construct the west bank bridge approaches.  The proposed borrow site is on property owned by Smith Contracting and is adjacent to their existing asphalt paving plant off of Highway 453.  As stipulated in the Contract Specifications, Murray Paving has completed, and submitted to the Corps, biological and cultural resource surveys of the area.  The Nashville District has completed and will distribute a draft Environmental Assessment the week of 10 September.

WES Navigation Model

Status – A draft final report is currently under review.

WES Lock Model

A draft report documenting the conditions due to the new short approach wall is under development.

Lock Design

In-house.  The main focus of in-house resources is to manage A/E contracts and initiate the new construction contracts mentioned in section B above.  Work is continuing on, the support of WES’s Lock Model work, existing lock anchoring and instrumentation design, miter gate design, culvert bulkhead air seals, Materials DM, and consolidation of all previous work into a lock Design Documentation Report. 

Electrical/Mechanical Design.   MWH are working for a final submission before the end of the FY.

Upper Approach Walls –  The final submittal for this task order is being printed by INCA and will be submitted to the District later this month.

Miter Gate Design.  Louisville District has completed P&S design of the miter gates and supplied INCA drawings and computations for engineer’s check.  Corrections required will be completed at beginning of FY 02.

Site Utilities – The 70% submittal by MWH is currently under review with comments due by 12 September.  A comment resolution meeting is scheduled for 19-20 September.

Upstream Monolith Design – Black & Veatch are working to finish the 30% Phase I submittal including earlier modifications to scope, this month.  This submittal includes significant work on monolith outlines and seismic analysis of the intake, upper gate and culvert valve monoliths. 

Downstream Lock Design -  Work continues by LRH on the downstream monolith Phase I designs.  Scoping of needed thermal analysis is underway.  Discussion of a close constructability area between the downstream cofferdam and the future lock wall approach nosing has resulted in the District deciding not to change the Phase I cofferdam layouts to increase space.  All alternatives to increase the tight space resulted in problems in other areas.  

Demolition and Modification of Existing Operations Building –  MWH should complete this design by the end of the summer.

New Operations Building & Maintenance Complex –  A 60% submittal is expected the first part of October by MWH.  Recent progress includes the decision to pursue an apron wall along the Operations building foundation to limit differential settlement concerns.  Also, the building’s location will be altered slightly to minimize interferences with lock monolith joints and to move the building as close as possible to the lock wall. 

East Bank Roadways/Site Plan P&S – Efforts are nearing completion to issue a modification to ACE to prepare P&S for the parking lots, roadways, and site grading for the east bank area of the lock. 

Transmission Towers

Construction progress – See Construction Activities in Section B.

Disposal/Contractor Laydown Areas

Vulcan Materials Disposal Site – No activities on this feature have occurred in the last month.

Cofferdam Design

Downstream cofferdam - Award of this Phase II of P&S was made in August.  Work on joint details, foundation design, constructability issues and combining the float-in with future lock structure is in progress. The decision was made this month to select foundation pipe piles instead of blasted rock keys for additional sliding resistance.  The first submittal of this work is scheduled for the first quarter of FY02.

Materials DM

WES is continuing testing on concrete mixes.  We are still on schedule to issue an essentially complete report at the beginning of FY 02.  Reports on some testing continuing past this date will be issued as an addendum to the report.

Relocations

·        RR/Hwy Design

·        East Bank Approaches – Efforts are proceeding with the development of a 90% package for submittal by September 28, 2001.  A 90% coordination meeting is scheduled for the morning of 25 October.

·        West Bank Embankment Modification – We are still waiting to hear from the KY Division of Water on their review of the water line relocation.

·        Superstructure Design – Negotiations have been completed with ACE to commence the final design of the bridges’ superstructure and all remaining facets of the Hwy relocations.  Scoping efforts with Hanson are ongoing for the similar railroad related design efforts.

·        West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation – The Corps and WKRECC executed a relocations contract on 7 Sept 2001.  This contract encompasses all the known relocations of WKRECC electric lines associated with the KY Lock project.  Immediate relocations include the lines traversing the proposed stockpile area just upstream of the lock.

Miscellaneous

KY Lock Telephone Directory – A list of all organizations and key personnel involved in the design of this project that contains their address, phone numbers and email addresses is available upon request to Don Getty, (615) 736-2346 [don.b.getty@lrn02.usace.army.mil].

Future Project Meetings

·        September 19-20 – 70% Site Utilities at Lake Barkley

·        Oct 2, 10:00 a.m.  – Benton Wetlands Pre-bid conference at Benton Nat. Guard Armory

·        October 25 – 90% East Bank Approaches Meeting

End of report