The Olmsted Locks & Dam project, located downstream of Locks and Dam 53 on the Illinois/Kentucky border, was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1988. The proposed replacement structure will eliminate Ohio River Locks & Dams 52 & 53. The project consists of two 110’ X 1200’ locks adjacent to the Illinois bank, and a dam comprised of five tainter gates, 1400’ of boat-operated wickets and a fixed weir.
This strategic reach of the Ohio River provides a connection between the Mississippi River, Tennessee River and Cumberland River. More tonnage passes this point than any other place in America’s inland navigation system. In 2004, 95 million tons (Locks & Dam 52) – valued at $20 billion – traversed this portion of the Ohio River. 25% of all coal shipped on the inland waterways transits Locks & Dam 52, destined for one of the 50 power plants located on the Ohio River System or one of the 17 power plants located in the eight states on the Upper or Lower Mississippi River. Traffic at the Olmsted project is projected to range between 113 million and 130 million tons by 2020.
T.Y. Lin International (TYLI) was selected by the Contractor, Washington Group International/Alberici, to provide structural and mechanical construction engineering design and detailing services related to the precast concrete operations, as well as the innovative in-the-wet construction operations, under a task order type three year contract. To date, TYLI has provided structural engineering and detailing services for the precast concrete shell reinforcing placements and casting operations, and structural/mechanical engineering services related to the flat jack shell support systems that allow the precast segments to be positioned and aligned under several feet of fast moving water. The work includes a review and checking of shop drawings and the development of a 3D model of the 116 ft. by 125 ft. shell segment The model shows all rebar, embedded metals, pintles, baffle blocks, beams, tremie openings, drill collar anchorages, and air bleed holes.
The vertical positioning system operates alongside and integrated with the horizontal positioning system. It consists of a series of up to twenty four, 450-ton flat jacks, designed to allow final positioning of the shell in its proper vertical location. A complete set of redundant jacks, hydraulics and controls are included, in the event of failure of the master system. The ability to monitor stresses in the concrete shell, as well as uplift forces, during tremie concrete operations is planned to be accomplished by using the lifting frame that is used to provide stiffness to the system during transport, as well as by using the flat jacks as load cells. The jacks are controlled from water on the above catamaran barge that transports the shells to their permanent location in the River. The lifting frame is also used to complete the tremie concrete placement through the top of the shell from above water, once the shell is in position and the catamaran barge has moved away. Once the tremie concrete has been placed beneath the shells and cured, the jacking system is then transfused with epoxy, making it a permanent part of the overall monolith placement, and the next segment is moved into position.