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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District
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St. Paul, MN 55101

Phone: (651) 290-5807
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Corps of Engineers begins repairs to Lock and Dam 10 lockmaster house

Published June 10, 2020
City of Hastings hydro plant dewatering diver safety

The St. Paul District recently assisted the City of Hastings with diver safety during the dewatering of the city-owned hydro plant at Lock and Dam 2. The District Dive Coordinator worked with the city's Public Works superintendent to communicate diver safety with the dive contractor, and a Corps dive safety inspector attended the pre-dive meeting, inspected equipment and monitored dive operations throughout the project.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is repairing its lockmaster house at Lock and Dam 10, in Guttenberg, Iowa.

Corps officials awarded a contract to Aegean Construction Supply Corporation, from Shalimar, Florida, to complete the rehabilitative work. The contractors started work on the project in May and hope to finish by the end of fall.

The Corps completed a historic preservation management plan on the house in 2019 and is now implementing the recommendations to improve visitor safety. The improvements include removing lead paint; restoring historic characteristics of the house such as a roof replacement, wood siding work, chimney work; and reconditioning the shutters and windows.

“It is important to the Corps to provide a positive and safe experience to those visiting, but we also recognize the need to preserve the historic character of the house,” said Vanessa Alberto, district archaeologist. “This house is one of the last remaining lockmaster houses on the river and is a symbol of the cultural history and heritage of not only the 1930s Great Depression but the construction of the lock and dam system on the river.”

The lockmaster house was built between 1937 and 1938 and is the last remaining lockmaster residence in its original location on the Mississippi River. From 1938 to 1971, lockmasters were required to live in these houses with their families on lock and dam sites. A lockmaster lived at the Lock and Dam 10 lockmaster house until 1990. The Corps now leases the house to the Guttenberg Heritage Society to operate as a museum. The house is closed to the public and visitors during the rehabilitative work.

The St. Paul District navigation program provides a safe, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation system on the Upper Mississippi River for the movement of commercial goods and for national security needs. To do this, the district maintains a 9-foot navigation channel and 13 locks and dams from Minneapolis to Guttenberg. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy. Nearly 16 million tons of commodities passed through Lock and Dam 10 in 2018. This included nearly 8.5 million tons of farm products such as corn and soybeans. The industries making these shipments saved approximately $430 million by using the inland waterways instead of overland shipping methods.

 

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Release no. 20-052