The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, awarded a $1.5 million contract to OCCI, Inc., doing business as Missouri Fabricators of Fulton, Missouri, on Sept. 22, to fabricate four replacement Tainter valves at Lock and Dam 2 located in Hastings, Minnesota, on the Mississippi River.
The supply contract includes fabrication and delivery of the Tainter valve structure, trunnion casting, bushing and pins as well as the lifting steel lug plates, as well as replacing the rubber seals and wire rope components. The valve structure was design to conform to the existing dimensions and lifting machinery with small modifications made for better strength, maintainability and longevity. The current Tainter valves at Lock and Dam 2 have been in operation since the 1940s and are a critical component of the main lock chamber needed to ensure the district’s navigation mission is successful.
Fabrication and delivery of the Tainter valves at Lock and Dam 2 is expected in August 2026. The St. Paul District’s maintenance and repair section will install the replacement valves after delivery without impact to navigation.
This project is funded under the authority of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1930. Design funding was provided through the Corps’ Operations and Maintenance Appropriation. Funding for award was received through the Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
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, Iowa. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy. Nearly 12 million tons of commodities passed through Lock and Dam 10 in 2022. This included nearly 8 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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