HASTINGS, Minn. — An important avenue to transport goods across the U.S. is getting some timely repairs just outside the Twin Cities.
The Army Corps of Engineers has been doing construction work on Lock and Dam No. 2 north of Hastings on the Mississippi River for a few months now. It’s a massive project that takes at least a year to plan. In order to do maintenance and repairs, the lock and dam was dewatered. That means the chamber where boats and barges pass through was essentially drained. Dewatering takes about 30 hours to complete. Heavy machinery needed for the repairs sits on a barge while the dewatering occurs, allowing it to lower to the bottom. Once finished, what’s left is a massive empty concrete “tub” that’s usually holding millions of gallons of water.
“It’s just neat to see how well it’s still maintaining its structure,” said Brandon Johnson, a member of the repair and maintenance crew. “Especially knowing the age of this lock and when it was put in. I think this was one of the ones (from) the ’30s.”