Page 32: of Marine News Magazine (October 2011)

Following up on our coverage from last month (MarineNews September, ?New Hope for Lock Repairs,? page 40), the installation of new lock gates at the Markland Dam is nearing com- pletion by the Army Corps of Engineer Louisville District, follow- ing the refurbishment of the lock quoins, one of the key components ofthe Markland Locks & Dam Major Rehabilitation project. The project is being undertaken using innovative new milling device manufactured by Climax Portable Machine Tools. Both the Army Corps of Engineers and the manufacturer are predicting signifi- cant cost savings and markedly reduced repair times ? for this project and the ones that follow. The quoins are 3-1/2 inches deep, 10 inches wide and run the length of the 65-foot wall, and keep water from leaking into the lock when the doors? or gates - close. The Army Corps now estimates that the lock will be fully operational in early November. During the installation of the new lock gates, the queue has averaged 30 hours for barges to get through the auxiliary lock which means they have to break tows apart and double lock. The Army Corps of Engineers is working diligently to get the larger lock open to reduce transit time. Before the new lock gates could be hung, the lock quoins needed to berefurbished due to corrosion, fatigue and normal wear and tear. In the past, quoin refurbishment and serviceabili- ty ? not a permanent long-termrepair ? would involve a near-term fix of placing epoxy at the quoins, which only lasts ten years. Or, it would have taken 45-to-60 days involving cutting out the concrete with a diamond saw and replacing the quoins. The latter procedure is seldom attempted. On this project, crews worked two 10-hour shifts and used an innovative portable milling machine to refurbish the quoins on site. The new machine was conceptualized by the Army Corps of Engineers and then designed and developed by Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. This 3030 E. Pershing St.Appleton, WI 54911 [email protected] Phone: (920) 738-5432Fax: (920) 738-5435Visit us in Booth #202 at SNAME Expo 2011 Markland Locks & Dam Repair Nears CompletionMain lock to open in early November(Photo Courtesy Climax Portable Machine Tools)Milling machines beinginstalled at Markland project(Continued on page 35)32MNOctober 2011MN#10 (32-49):MN 2011 Layouts 10/5/2011 1:54 PM Page 32