Pearl River Lock Repairs Nearing Early Completion

Vicksburg, Miss… – Repairs to the Pearl River Navigational Canal Lock #2 are expected to be completed ahead of schedule by November 20, 2013. The repair work included backfilling the erosion damages to the east bank along  the lock chamber, installing a concrete ditch slope drain, turfing, and repairing the damaged security fence.

The work was necessary due to the heavy rains from Hurricane Isaac overtopping the wall at lock #2 in early September. The valve settings on the upstream and downstream ends of the lock were changed to avoid any overtopping in the future.

The $162,000 contract was awarded in late August 2013 to Hensley R. Lee Contracting of Picayune, Mississippi, with a required completion date 8 January 2014.

According to James McRae of the Corps Vidalia Area Office, “Our contractor moved in quickly and went right to work. He is making excellent progress and will finish significantly ahead of the project’s scheduled completion date.”

The navigation canal is connected to the Bogue Chitto and Pearl Rivers and came into existence through the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1935.  The project was completed in 1956 to provide navigation from the mouth of the West Pearl River to the vicinity of Bogalusa, Louisiana.  The project was regularly dredged and maintained until 1973. In 1995, due to decreases in river traffic, Congress put the lock and dam into “caretaker” status and the locks were closed to navigation.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is the world's largest public engineering organization and has a firm commitment to preserving and enhancing our natural environment and providing continued navigation on the waterways. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana that holds seven major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline levees. For more information on the Vicksburg District, please visit our website. www.mvk.usace.army.mil