“The crews worked 7 days a week 12 hours a day. Over the days of preparation, water levels continued to fall at the rate of about two feet per day, continually easing the water pressure that pressed the twisted metal against the concrete structure. Everyone had a common goal with a great understanding of the importance of this work to the community and the economy in our area,” stated Shane Roe, Major Maintenance Supervisor, MKARNS Navigation Operations. “All the crews worked extremely well together. To reinforce the hulls of the barges during the lifting process, welders attached supports onto the hull of the barge. Once additional anchors were placed, salvage vessels moved into place upstream of the dam and began cutting away pieces of the wreckage with massive shears. An exact water level could not be determined so the Tulsa District immediately requested a deviation from Southwestern Division and Headquarters USACE to begin lowering the Webbers pool and maintain lower river elevation until the wreckage could be removed.Īs the pool began to drop, the salvagers ran aground two additional barges upstream of the dam to serve as anchors and filled them with water in preparation for the wreckage extraction process.
Salvagers assessed that the Webbers pool would need to be lowered in order to facilitate the removal of the wrecked barges. Everyone's success in this endeavor would be directly related to how well we communicated."Īfter traversing high volume flows and navigating around many areas of shoaling caused by the flood water, the salvage crew arrived at Webbers Falls on the morning of August 9.
“We knew this recovery process was going to have a lot of variables, and would be an extremely fluid situation requiring constant communication with all parties involved. "Our navigation folks as well as folks from our Hydraulic and Hydrological Engineering sections were in constant contact with barge owners, salvage crews and stakeholders,” stated Lieutenant Colonel Rick Childers, Deputy District Commander. Once onsite, the salvage company, barge owners and the Tulsa District could determine a way forward. Tulsa District engineers determined that because of the pressure of high-volume flows and a lack of proximate capabilities, the wreckage would stay in place under constant monitoring until a salvage crew, which had been contracted by the barge owner, could make its way up the MKARNS from Mississippi. Water levels at this point were so high on the MKARNS that Tulsa District locks 14, 17 and 18 were completely inundated and under water. A loss of this dam would not be life threatening.” “The purpose for this structure is intended to hold pools for navigation and hydropower and are not considered a floods risk structure. These structures were designed to endure a collision of this magnitude,” stated Rodney Beard, Tulsa District’s Chief of Navigation.
“There was never a concern on whether or not this dam would withstand the impact from the barges. The second barge came to rest on top of the first, impeding both the river’s flow, and blocking operation of four gates. Less than a minute after striking the dam, the barges sunk to the base of the structure. The river at Three Forks less than a half mile upstream of the Port of Muskogee crested at 46.39 feet, approximately 24 feet above normal.ĭuring the flood two barges broke away from their moorings and drifted from the port down the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and slammed into Webbers Falls Lock & Dam 16 on May 23. Record rainfall throughout northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas in May 2019 pushed the Arkansas River to near record heights.
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