Kentucky Lock operator cited for preventing $5 million of potential damages

Photo By Leon Roberts | Maj. Gen. Robert F. Whittle Jr., USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division commanding general, and Kentucky Lock Operator Joshua C. Mullins pose with teammates and leaders after the general presented him the U.S. Army Meritorious Civilian Service Medal Oct. 3, 2019 at Kentucky Lock in Grand Rivers, Ky. Mullins is recognized for preventing $5 million in potential damage when he observed a barge listing on the shoreline of Kentucky Lake and taking action to prevent the loss of a concrete shell used to construct a coffer dam and permanent lock wall as part of the Kentucky Lock Addition Project. (USACE photo by Leon Roberts)  

NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES

10.06.2019

Story by Leon Roberts 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 6, 2019) – A lock operator at Kentucky Lock received the U.S. Army Meritorious Civilian Service Medal this week from the commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.

Maj. Gen. Robert F. Whittle Jr., presented the medal Oct. 3, 2019 at Kentucky Lock in Grand Rivers, Ky., to Joshua C. Mullins for taking quick action when he noticed a barge holding a $5 million concrete cofferdam shell severely listing on the shoreline of the Tennessee River just upstream of the navigation lock.

Whittle noted in the award citation that Mullins’ knowledge, initiative, and quick thinking the evening of March 9, 2019 saved the barge, preventing a multi-million dollar catastrophic failure. In presenting the medal, he said this level of award has to be approved by a two-star general, so they have to rise to that level, and are not awarded very often.

“What Joshua did of course saved us a ton of money,” Whittle said. “He was observant and took the right actions.”

The Nashville District has been working to install 10 concrete shells that will be part of the downstream cofferdam and the permanent lock wall for the Kentucky Lock Addition Project. When completed, the downstream coffer dam will make it possible to excavate and then construct the new lock in dry conditions. Each rectangular shell is approximately 46-feet wide, 51-feet long, and 33-feet tall with concrete walls about one-foot thick. They weigh well over a million pounds each.

Lt. Col. Sonny B. Avichal, Nashville District commander, said an open hatch cover caused the barge to take on water as high winds caused waves to roll onto the deck of the barge.

“Joshua knew the huge and costly concrete shell could have slid off the barge into Kentucky Lake. He called the helper boat for assistance, and they arrived in enough time to avert tragedy and save the shell,” Avichal said.

The coffer dam is part of the Kentucky Lock Addition Project at Kentucky Dam, a Tennessee Valley Authority Project, where a new 110-foot by 1,200-foot navigation lock is under construction adjacent and landward of the existing 110-foot by 600-foot lock.

Jeremiah Manning, resident engineer for the Kentucky Lock Addition Project, said he is very thankful Mullins paid close attention to his surroundings when he saw the barge listing. His effort saved the government and taxpayers lots of money and time that would have been lost moving the project forward.

Mullins thanked the general and said on behalf of the team he is honored to be recognized.

(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps, and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. The public can also follow Kentucky Lock on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kentuckylock.)

• Date Taken: 10.06.2019
• Date Posted: 10.06.2019 16:49
• Story ID: 346223
• Location: NASHVILLE, TN, US