Posted on September 26, 2022
Luhr Bros., Inc. of Columbia, Illinois, was awarded a construction contract on Sept. 9 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, to perform dike construction and maintenance along the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee.
The awarded $6.8 million comes from a combination of the Disaster Relief Supplemental Act of 2022 (DRSAA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding.
This contract comes through a previously negotiated Multiple Award Task Order Contract – known as a MATOC – for Mississippi River Stone Navigation Structures within the Memphis and Vicksburg District boundaries.
“The MATOC is a pool of large and small businesses that have the technical capabilities and demonstrated past performance on river construction projects similar in size, scope, and complexity as the work at Coahoma-Armstrong,” Project Manager Zach Cook said. “This contracting tool allows the Memphis District to save time in advertising and awarding this important river work to promote a safe and dependable navigation channel.”
In partnership with Commercial Towing Interests, represented by the Lower Mississippi River Committee (LOMRC), the scope of project work consists of placing approximately 197,000 tons of Graded Stone A (5,000-lb max size) and 8,500 tons of Graded Stone C (400-lb max size).
Additional stone placement will restore, raise, and extend four existing stone dikes and construct one new dike. The work will result in the improvement of the navigation channel crossing in this reach of the Mississippi River.
Congratulations to the Memphis District for awarding such an imperative construction contract. Most importantly, many thanks to all involved in this contract award and eventual project completion, as it will work to produce a single efficient channel for navigation, reduce the need for repetitive dredging, and further support the flood-carrying capacity of the river.
