ILLINOIS—The news that work will begin in the new year to build a barrier to keep invasive carp from the Great Lakes is being welcomed.
“This is more good news to get the momentum moving forward on this,” said Molly Flanagan, chief operating officer with the Alliance for the Great Lakes. “The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has indicated initial work on the Brandon Road Lock and Dam will begin on January 28.”
“It’s great news, it means we are finally breaking ground on this important project to keep carp out of the Great Lakes,” Ms. Flanagan told The Expositor.
“By moving ahead with construction in a timely manner, (USACE) and the states of Illinois and Michigan clearly recognize the threat invasive carp pose to the Great Lakes,” Ms. Flanagan said in a statement to Wisconsin Public Radio. “The Alliance appreciates their continued dedication to stopping invasive carp from wreaking havoc on the Great Lakes.”
USACE announced December 4 that it awarded the first construction contract on the $1.15 billion project at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois.
The Corps awarded a $15.5 million contract to Miami Marine Services to prepare the site and remove rocks from the riverbed. The contractor will partner with Milwaukee-based Michels Construction.
This is the first of three construction phases that will install defenses there to keep the fish from getting past the crucial choke point. As has been reported previously those tools include noisemakers, a bubble curtain, an electric barrier and a flushing lock.
“This project will definitely benefit Canada as well, being part of the Great Lakes International waters with the US,” said Ms. Flanagan. “This project is needed to keep the economies going for all jurisdictions and prevent significant damage to the fisheries throughout (the Great Lakes).”
The invasive carp were first introduced to the southern United States in the early 1960s and 1970s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If carp were to get past the lock and dam, they could enter the Chicago Area Waterway System, a network of canals and rivers that connects to Lake Michigan. Invasive carp threaten to outcompete native fish and harm the $20 billion fishing and boating industries on the Great Lakes.
Earlier this year the state of Illinois signed an agreement with state and federal officials to advance the project’s cost. This agreement opened $274 million in federal funding for construction at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam. The US government will provide up to 90 percent of the project’s cost. Michigan and Illinois will each pay $114 million for the barrier.
Work is expected to continue through March.
