Posted on December 9, 2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, awarded the first construction contract for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project on Nov. 27. The $15.5 million contract was awarded to Miami Marine Services for site preparation and riverbed rock removal for the engineered channel. Miami Marine will partner with Michels Construction, Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for completion of this contract.
This project, which is a partnership between USACE and the States of Illinois and Michigan, is part of the first of three construction increments for the estimated $1.15 billion project designed to prevent the upstream movement of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes.
Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois, was identified as the critical pinch point where layered technologies could be used to stop invasive carp populations from moving into the Great Lakes. If established in the Great Lakes, invasive carp could outcompete native species and greatly harm the ecology and economy of the entire Great Lakes region and its $20 billion fishing and boating industries.
To facilitate construction activities, weekday closures at Brandon Road Lock will begin Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, and continue through Tuesday, March 25, 2025. These closures will coincide with the full closure upstream of Lockport Lock to minimize overall impacts to navigation.
