Construction to start at Locks and Dams 6 and 10

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will begin construction in early June on Lock and Dam 6 in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, and Lock and Dam 10 in Guttenberg, Iowa, to enhance the auxiliary chambers of each structure.

Construction should not impact commercial or recreational navigation through the locks and dams, although the Corps of Engineers urges boaters to use extra caution in the vicinity of the construction sites. Construction is expected to be complete by the fall.

The Corps plans to install a double-walled sheet pile structure upstream of the auxiliary gates at both locks. The sheet pile structure will act as a redundant damming surface and a walkway. If removed, the structure would not interfere with the function of the auxiliary gates. Similar construction on Locks and Dams 5 and 5A was completed in 2020.

The construction involves enhancing the auxiliary chambers of each lock and dam. Each auxiliary chamber has only a single set of miter gates that could pass shallow draft navigation traffic, if the main lock chamber was out of operation and the upstream and downstream pools were equalized. At each site, the Corps originally only installed one set of miter gates, as an auxiliary lock chamber was never authorized by Congress, which would have included a second set of miter gates. Since installation, the auxiliary emergency gates have never been used, and the gate operating machinery was never installed.

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