U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp said Monday that the cofferdam portion of the Chickamauga Lock replacement project is on budget.
Rep. Wamp and a small delegation of state and local officials traveled to Hixson for an update on progress with the construction of a replacement for Chickamauga Dam’s 65-year-old lock, which engineers say has been weakened by “concrete growth.”
The condition reportedly is caused by a chemical reaction rock aggregate and alkali in the cement.
The congressman said that while many similar projects across the nation have come in late and over budget, contractor C.J. Mahan Inc. is on time and on budget with construction of a cofferdam.
A cofferdam is a type of watertight construction designed to facilitate construction projects in areas which are normally submerged, such as bridges and piers.
Once the cofferdam has been installed in the work area, water will be pumped out so that the riverbed is exposed, Rep. Wamp said.
That will provide workers with a dry environment in which they can build a new, significantly larger Chickamauga Lock through which more barges can pass.
Officials hope the $375 million project, which is being completed in a series of stages, will be finished by 2014.
The first stage was the relocation of Lake Resort Drive and construction of a new bridge over North Chickamauga Creek, they explained, and the cofferdam is stage two.