Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Mary Headrick, Candidate for 3rd Congressional District, calls for stepping up efforts to replace the Chickamauga Lock, which she says should be repaired and remain in operation until then. She also has a plan for funding it. If I'm not mistaken, the replacement lock was supposed to be completed by 2010, but on-again, off-again funding has delayed the project.

According to a white paper released by Headrick (included after the break), closing the Chickamauga lock would abandon 318 miles of navigable waterways above Chattanooga. It would cut Knoxville off from barge traffic, eliminate jobs, and affect defense related shipments to Oak Ridge facilities.

According to port operators, one gallon of diesel fuel will move one ton of freight 514 miles by barge, as compared to 202 miles by rail or 59 miles by truck. It would take 60 new trucks on our highways to replace one barge taken out of service.

White Paper released by Mary Headrick, Candidate for 3rd Congressional District

Existing Lock

The existing 60' x 360' lock was completed in 1940. It is the smallest lock on the TN River. A new lock is required to replace the existing lock because of structural deficiencies caused by the physical expansion of the concrete structure.

The expansion is due to a reaction between the alkali in the cement and the rock aggregate and threatens the structural integrity of the lock and limits its life.

If the lock has to be closed, 318 miles of navigable waterway above Chattanooga would be abandoned, highway truck traffic and land transportation costs would increase due to the absence of competition via barge traffic on the river, and there would be a significant disruption or closure of many water-dependent industries. The defense facilities at Oak Ridge and two nuclear plants would be denied waterborne shipment of oversize cargoes. Stopping inter-reservoir traffic would result in the loss of jobs in East TN and hinder recreational boating.

Economic and transportation impacts associated with a lock closure would likely be over $500M annually.

Since 1999 The Corps has spent $26.5 M ($ 700K /yr needs = bare minimum) on an aggressive maintenance and monitor program to keep the lock open past TVA's original 2005 predicted closure date. In FY 12 the President's budget included $3.1M for the maintenance and monitor program, including some one time repair tasks.

However, the lock was not included in the President's Fy 13 budget. Additional yearly funds of $700K will be needed to insure the lock can continue to operate safely. The lock would have to be closed soon after 2012 if the $700K is not provided.

Senator Alexander is trying to modify the IWTF/Corps Engineer funding formula, a formula instituted decades in the past under Pres. Reagan.

Replacement Lock

Authorized by the Energy and Water Development Act of 2003. The size of the new lock is 110 x 600 as compared with 60 x 360 for the existing lock. The new lock will reduce travel time per tow from the current 8 hours to less than two hours.
Total project cost is $693M in October 2011 dollars and includes inflation for a completion date of 2018.

Construction commenced in 2004. Total allocation to the project trough the end of FY 11 was $186M, including $51M in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds (all GOP were/are against]. The project received $1.0M in FY10 appropriations but has not been included in subsequent budget requests.

Funding Status

Normally at Chickamauga Lock, 50% of the funding would come from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) and the remaining 50% from appropriated funds. The IWTF is funded through a $0.20/gallon tax on marine diesel fuel that has not been tncreased in many years. The Barge Operators favor a $.29 tax to help pay for the Lock needs. Over the past five years IWTF revenues have not been sufficient to fund ongoing construction for existing projects.

There are four active capital improvements projects eligible for IWTF and they are (in order of ranked priority): Olmsted Lock and Dam, Lower Monongahela Lock and Dam, Chickamauga Lock and Kentucky Lock. Olmsted’s maximum annual funding needs through 2016 are approximately $150M, which is $75M IWTF compared to $74 to $85M annual revenue in IWTF. As you can see, not much remains after meeting Olmsted’s funding needs.
They all meet legitimate needs, Olmsted in particular. None are a bridge to nowhere.

Ongoing work at Chickamauga Replacement Lock consists of the cofferdam and off-site fabrications. These have been funded through ARRA (Recovery Act) and have not required a cost share with IWTF. This work will complete tasks that move the project along the construction critical path timeline,thus shortening the time to completion as we receive funding to continue work.
There is pending legislation initiated by Senator Alexander, supported by Senator Corker and the Tennessee delegation to change the IWTF funding ratio at Olmsted Lock and Dam for one year. This could effectively free up $72M in IWTF funding that could be used at the three other IWTF-eligible projects mentioned previously.

To that end we [the Corps] have prepared contracting scenarios of logical portions of that potential $72M. These contracting scenarios allow us to be responsive to the level of funding we may receive with construction projects that are appropriately "next" and that move us closer to overall completion in the most efficient manner.

While we are hopeful of receiving a portion of the funds mentioned in the previous paragraph for Chickamauga Lock, we do not have confirmation at this time. Consequently, if we do not receive additional funding in FY2013, the construction project will be placed in a mothball status when the work currently under contract is completed.

Benefits of the Replacement Lock

From 1997 to 2010 annual tonnage passing through the existing lock ranged from 0.7 to 2.7 million tons. The Corps forecasts that tonnage levels will grow to about 11.3 million tons by 2060. The annual transportation rate savings for 1.0 million tons of cargo going through the replacement lock is estimated to be approximately $18M.

Transportation rate savings refer to savings experienced through more favorable rates in other forms of transportation resulting from competition by the lock as well as economies realized by using barge transportation over other modes.

Annual average benefits are estimated at $5.7 million and consist of transportation benefits, recreation benefits and external benefits. Specifically, these relate to increased growth of existing usage, efficiencies resulting from the use of a larger lock (more efficient transit), changes in mode of transportation when shippers move from overland modes to barges because of efficiencies, and movement of larger volumes by barge made possible by the larger and more efficient replacement lock.

External benefits result primarily from reduced highway congestion and damages, and reduced emissions. If the lock closed and commodities shifted to landward modes of transportation there may be concern that existing highway and rail capacities are insufficient to carry the additional loads.