PHOTO BY DON RAWSON, NEW ORLEANS DISTRICT CHANNEL IMPROVEMENT COORDINATOR
MISSISSIPPI VALLE Y DIVISION
COURTESY U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
ABOVE: The crew of the Mississippi Valley Division’s Mat Sinking Unit prepares to place blocks of articulated concrete mattress along a portion of the Mississippi River bank near Port Allen, Louisiana. LEFT: Workers at a Mississippi River bank revetment, Memphis District, Jan. 17, 1939.
smaller modular units, as the roughly 70-year-old plant is outdated, difficult to maintain, and lacking in replaceable parts.” The division’s team initiated a partnership with USACE’s Marine Design Center in June 2014 to develop a conceptual design. The MSU replacement concept incorporated the latest technologies and automations to deliver revetment, taking into consideration efficiency, cost, and safety requirements. The final conceptual design has been fully vetted and approved, and the detailed design has begun. The Marine Design Center, part of USACE’s Philadelphia District, is the center of expertise when it comes to naval architecture and marine engineering. It has the lead in designing, prototype testing, and constructing the MSU replacement. The National Robotics Engineering Center and TerranearPMC, located in Pittsburgh and Exton, Pennsylvania, respectively, along with Bristol Harbor Group, out of Bristol, Rhode Island, will work together on the robotics and barge design to create the new unit, nicknamed “Armor One.” The detailed design and construction of Armor One is estimated to take eight to 10 years and cost approximately $125 million. Coincidentally, that is about the same cost in today’s dollars that it cost to construct the original MSU back in 1948. The new unit is anticipated to be in production in FY 2023. The design has been implemented in a phased approach beginning with Phase I & II in FY 2017. Phase I is complete, resulting in a final performance characterization report. Phase II is more than 65 percent
complete and continues with design, fabrication, and testing automated mat-laying technology including mechanical, sensing, and control systems for application on a barge vessel platform using designed software and code. Phase III, in FY 2018, involves full design, acquisition of equipment, and construction of a prototype. Also included in Phase III is the beginning of the mat boat design and robotics safety compliance by the American Bureau of Shipping. The prototype will be used for functional and safety testing. The current MSU has served the Mississippi Valley Division well for 70 years. Armor One will help keep the Mighty Mississippi in its current channel for another 70 years. Millions of lives, the navigation industry, and the national economy depend on the Mississippi remaining right where it is now. Since the initiation of the MR&T project, the nation has contributed $15.1 billion toward project-planning, construction, operation, and maintenance. To date, the nation has received a 54-to-1 return on that investment, including $823 billion in flood damages prevented since 1928. At the same time, waterborne commerce on the Mississippi River has increased from 30 million tons in 1940 to nearly 500 million tons today. Such astounding figures place the MR&T project among the most successful and cost-effective public works projects in the history of the United States. n For more information about the current Mat Sinking Unit operation, view “Managing the Mighty Mississippi” on Youtube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsAIDt9764Y. 35