Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said Chickamauga Lock construction will continue for the sixth consecutive year under the work plan released today by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which reflects Alexander’s priorities as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the agency.
“This funding will keep construction of the new Chickamauga Lock on time and schedule and is the sixth consecutive year of federal funding for the project. This is great news for East Tennessee since it will help keep up to 150,000 trucks off I-75 and keep the cost of shipping goods low for manufacturers across the state,” Senator Alexander said.
“More U.S. senators ask to increase funding for the Army Corps of Engineers than any other part of the budget, and I worked hard to provide record funding for the Corps to ensure we could keep federal lock and dam projects on track, which was important for Chickamauga Lock after the project was restarted in 2015,” stated Senator Alexander.
Alexander has made completion of Chickamauga Lock one of his top priorities as chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, which is responsible for recommending funding levels for the Army Corps of Engineers. For fiscal year 2020, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law an appropriations bill that included $7.65 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers—a record funding level in a regular appropriations bill.
According to the Army Corps of Engineers’ work plan, the $101.7 million for Chickamauga Lock will be enough to efficiently continue engineering, design, and construction of the lock.
Additionally, the work plan provides $8.1 million for the J. Percy Priest project, which includes an additional $2.2 million for maintenance of recreation features and greenway trail improvements. The work plan also includes $2.163 million for dredging at Memphis Harbor McKellar Lake, which is good news for West Tennesseans.
Finally, the work plan also makes full use of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund revenues, which are fees paid by those who use the waterways for water infrastructure projects, for the sixth consecutive year.
