Great Bridge Lock reopens to vessel traffic

The Great Bridge Lock on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal reopened today after a two-day closure to vessel traffic. Contractors, overseen by the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, removed and replaced a 72-ton set of aging lock gates as part of a service plan to increase the lifespan of the locks.

Joel Scussel (left), Norfolk District’s project manager for the Great Bridge Lock here, reviews plans for the gate removal with contractors from U.S. Facilities, Inc., based in Philadelphia, Pa. The last set of gates were installed 25 years ago, and once a set of gates are removed, they are refurbished and will be cycled back into the locks as other gates are cycled out.

Joel Scussel, Norfolk District’s project manager for the Great Bridge Lock here, is overseeing the replacement of two 25-year-old lock gates with two refurbished gates Feb. 19 and 20, 2014. The Great Bridge Lock gates, which were constructed by the Corps in 1932, are part of the eight sets of gates throughout the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal waterway. Each set of canal gates, which are managed and operated by the Norfolk District, is removed and refurbished on a rotational basis every 15 to 20 years.

Contractors from U.S. Facilities, Inc., based in Philadelphia, Pa., position blocks of wood on the ground so the old set of gates will be easier to lift by the crane once the new gates are in place. Funding to replace the set of old Great Bridge lock gates was submitted two years ago and approved in the Corps’ fiscal year 2014 budget. New gates would have cost more than $900,000 but by using refurbished gates, the final price tag of the work; which included removal, replacement and rehabilitation, was $272,000.

A welder from U.S. Facilities, Inc., based in Philadelphia, Pa., welds a steel eye hook on two ends of the old gate to make it easier for contractors to guide the gate once it is lifted by the crane. Each set of canal gates, which are managed and operated by the Norfolk District, is removed and refurbished on a rotational basis every 15 to 20 years.

A crane is moving one of two refurbished lock gates off a barge and lowering it into the canal at the Great Bridge Lock Feb. 20, 2014. The 72-ton set of aging lock gates were removed after 25 years - part of a service plan to increase the lifespan of the Great Bridge locks. Each set of canal gates, which are managed and operated by the Norfolk District, is removed and refurbished on a rotational basis every 15 to 20 years.

One of two refurbished lock gates is lowered into the canal at the Great Bridge Lock Feb. 20, 2014. The 72-ton set of aging lock gates were removed after 25 years and are being replaced with refurbished gates - part of a service plan to increase the lifespan of the Great Bridge locks. Each set of canal gates, which are managed and operated by the Norfolk District, is removed and refurbished on a rotational basis every 15 to 20 years.

A crane lowers one of two refurbished lock gates into place at the Great Bridge Lock here Feb. 20, 2014 as part of a service plan to increase the lifespan of the lock. The Great Bridge Lock gates, which were constructed by the Corps in 1932, are part of the eight sets of gates throughout the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal waterway. Each set of canal gates, which are managed and operated by the Norfolk District, is removed and refurbished on a rotational basis every 15 to 20 years. The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal together with the Dismal Swamp Canal form the historic Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, which provides pleasure boaters and commercial shippers with a protected inland channel between Norfolk, Va. and Miami, Fla.

The Great Bridge Lock on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal reopened Feb. 21, 2014 after a two-day closure to vessel traffic. Contractors, overseen by the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, removed and replaced a 72-ton set of aging lock gates as part of a service plan to increase the lifespan of the locks. The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal together with the Dismal Swamp Canal form the historic Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, which provides pleasure boaters and commercial shippers with a protected inland channel between Norfolk, Va. and Miami, Fla.