It is the end of an era, but the beginning of a bright future in the Tennessee Valley.  The original Chickamauga Lock, completed in 1940 will soon be replaced with a new, much larger lock allowing East Tennessee to remain competitive with other regions of the county. 

One of the most important and massive construction projects in the history of Chattanooga is becoming a reality after President George W. Bush signed the legislation to replace the failing Chickamauga Lock three months ago. 

Replacing the Chickamauga Lock is critical to the economic vitality of the Tennessee Valley and has been my top legislative priority for the last eight years.  The current lock is plagued with "concrete growth" and must be replaced. If it is not replaced, the lock would be shut down and many goods would have to be shipped by alternative means, including putting thousands more tractor-trailer trucks on our highways. We could not allow the Tennessee River to close to commerce so we worked together and made this happen.

The Army Corps of Engineers will take the lead on this $321 million, seven-year initiative that is set to formally break ground during the summer of 2004.  In the mean time, the design and engineering is underway for all three phases of the project, which by statute is funded 50 % by Congressional Appropriations and 50% by the Inland Waterway Trust Fund. 

Phase One will include road construction, infrastructure improvement and construction of the staging areas.  Phase Two will include the design and construction of the "coffer dam," that will be used to hold back Chickamauga Lake and the Tennessee River during the actual construction of the new lock.  Phase Three will include the design and the construction of the new lock itself, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.

The new lock will be 110 feet by 600 feet, almost twice the size of the current 60 by 360 foot lock.  The existing lock will remain operational during the entire construction timeline of the new lock. 

Due to the shear enormity of this undertaking, the Army Corps of Engineers has dedicated a section of its website to keeping Chattanoogans informed of the progress. Anyone wishing to monitor the construction or to learn more about the Chickamauga Lock can go to http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/pao/chickamaugalock. This website will include a project timeline, pictures of the progress being made and frequently asked questions.

Over the next seven years, we will see many changes on the banks on the Tennessee River and these changes represent the growing prosperity of the Tennessee Valley.  The Army Corps of Engineers has a big job ahead of it and I am committing to working with them and other agencies throughout my service in Congress to make this plan a reality.