Back in 2022, Lock and Dam 25 received $732 million in federal funding towards the completion of a new 1,200-foot lock chamber, which would replace the existing one. This expansion project aims to improve barge traffic on the Mississippi River while also enhancing safety.
Today, things are moving at what Jim Tarmann, Managing Director of Illinois Corn, describes as a “snail’s pace”.
“Since then, various things; cost, new cost estimates, and things like that, have somewhat slowed us down,” shares Tarmann.”So our pace is slow, but yet we continue to move forward, and now we’re facing another hurdle as the government is shut down.”
Over the past few months, the area has been shut down to prepare for construction crews to come in.
“It’s just a matter of getting through all the contracts and awarding bids to the contractors,” says Tarmann. “We have enough funding to make it through through fiscal year ’26, but come fiscal year ’27, we’re going to have to go back to Congress and ask for some additional funding, not only for our particular projects, but we have some other ongoing projects, is probably what the biggest hurdles for us for moving forward there at Lock and Dam 25.”
The other projects include the Chickamauga Lock on the Tennessee River, the Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River.
