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Des Plaines River News

26 Sep 2022

J.F. Brennan Tallies $23.5 Million Lock and Dam Contract

A tow enters the lock chamber from downstream at Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo: USACE  Rock Island District)

La Crosse, Wis. based marine construction firm J.F. Brennan Co. Inc. has secured a contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Rockdale, Ill.The company was the sole bidder for the $23,484,700 firm-fixed-price contract, which will see it install a miter gate installation and replace machinery at the site. Work is estimated to be completed by January 19, 2024.The Brandon Road Lock and Dam is a lock and dam complex along the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois.

26 Jan 2022

Federal Dollars Available for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project

(Image: USACE)

The Brandon Road project is on the Des Plaines River, in Joliet, about 50 miles downstream from Chicago. That location offers a last chance to keep Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) out of the Great Lakes. The Army Corps explains that a “new structural control point would include the Technology Alternative Acoustic Fish Deterrent with Electric Barrier, which includes, a bubble curtain, an engineered channel, an electric barrier, and flushing lock.” This would “to the maximum extent…

09 May 2018

Inland Drydocks: Location, Location, Location

(Photo: TPG)

A recent dry dock rehab project in Chicago provides new options and money saving opportunities for inland and Great Lakes stakeholders alike.From software to steel plating, Indiana-based TPG Marine Enterprises provides a range of services in the Great Lakes and inland waterways markets. River based tug and barge services are based in Jeffersonville and Mt. Vernon, IN, on the Ohio River, as well as on Kentucky’s Green River. The company also owns TPG Chicago Dry Dock, located on the Calumet River.

02 Jan 2002

Harrah’s Gets New Barge Mounted Casino

Harrah’s recently opened a new barge mounted casino at their Joilet, Illinois property on the Des Plaines River near Chicago. The building on a barge replaces two USCG certified vessels that have been at the facility since 1993, the M/V Northern Star, a cruise-ship type vessel, and M/C Southern Star, a sternwheeler. The barges for the new facility were designed by DeJong & Lebet, Inc. Naval Architects, Jacksonville, Florida. DeJong & Lebet, Inc. also designed the two casino vessels that were replaced by the barge-mounted casino. The casino is mounted on two barges, which were built at Halter Marine in Port Bienville, Miss. Each barge measures approximately 200 x 100 x 16 ft. The barges are constructed of steel, except for the main deck, which is a 10.5 in. thick concrete slab.

24 Jan 2002

Ferries Lead the Way

There are several quick conclusions you can draw about passenger boat construction in the new millennium. First it is a smaller market than 10 years ago with far fewer boats being built today than a decade ago. Secondly almost all of these vessels are built on the east or west coast. There are virtually no passenger boats being built in the south. Third, the number one vessel type being built is the ferryboat and more specifically the all-passenger ferry that shuttles people at 25 knots or better. In the years between 1987 and 1993 shipyards all over the country were building 600-passenger excursion-dinner boats in great numbers as sightseeing and dining vessels on America’s great rivers, lakes and bays became increasingly popular.

22 May 2002

USCG Releases NPRM for Port Chicago Zone

The Coast Guard proposes to establish permanent security zones on the navigable waters of the Des Plaines River, the Kankakee River, the Rock River, and Lake Michigan in the Captain of the Port Zone Chicago. These security zones are necessary to protect the nuclear power plants, water intake cribs, and Navy Pier from possible sabotage or other subversive acts, accidents, or possible acts of terrorism. These zones are intended to restrict vessel traffic from portions of the Des Plaines River, Rock River, and Lake Michigan. Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or before June 21, 2002. Pier; Dresden Nuclear Power Plant Water Intake; Donald C. Water Intake Crib; Dever Water Intake Crib; and 79th Street Water Filtration Plant. subversive acts.

31 Aug 1999

Empress Casino Denies Workers' Right to Organize

Empress Casino, which operates two gaming boats on the Des Plaines River, near Joliet, Ill., has refused to allow its workers to join a union, despite a written statement from the company supporting its employees' right to joina union and an overwhelming majority vote by Empress marine officers in favor of organizing, says a national union. Marine officers employed aboard casino boats Empress I and Empress II, voted to join American Maritime Officers (AMO), a national union representing licensed engine and deck officers in the U.S. merchant marine. According to AMO, Empress Casino refuses to recognize the election and will not negotiate a union contract with the workers…