Fountain City Service Base mooring system gets an upgrade

Photo By David Elmstrom | Crews begin work to upgrade the harbor walls at the Fountain City Service Base, in Fountain City, Wisconsin.  

ST. PAUL, MN, UNITED STATES

03.22.2023

Story by David Elmstrom 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District

This winter, the dredge fleet – the Goetz, Taggatz and the Warren – were scheduled to be in drydock for the offseason, which happens every five years. In addition, the fleet responsible for lock and dam maintenance will support scheduled maintenance projects at two of St. Paul District’s locks.

That’s giving the Fountain City Service Base, in Fountain City, Wisconsin, – known as the “Boatyard” – an opportunity to get more construction work done in the off-season.

The base is in the middle of a two-phase project that will upgrade its facilities, including the mooring for ongoing maintenance of equipment and boats.

The first phase, with a $10.2 million contract awarded to Newt Marine Service of Dubuque, Iowa, began in 2021 and will replace deteriorated mooring dolphins on the west side of the Fountain City bay. A new mooring system will replace the previous wood mooring dolphins. That phase is scheduled for completion this spring, according to Adam Loven, plant and facilities manager.

That will give the service base upgrades to welcome back its dredge and lock maintenance fleet in the spring.

“It was good timing for the drydock,” Loven said.

Loven said initial work for Phase 2 began last summer, with an $18.6 million contract awarded to Kraemer North America of Plain, Wisconsin.This phase includes straightening out the existing harbor wall, leveling the grade at the service base, adding two crane cells and updating electrical and water infrastructure. The project is scheduled for completion by June 2024.

“In addition to safety and security improvements, we are taking steps to make operations and maintenance activities at the base more efficient,” said Kristin Moe, chief of the navigation branch overseeing Fountain City.

The Fountain City Service Base is key to the St. Paul District’s navigation mission. The Corps has used this facility for the construction, repair and maintenance of vessels and equipment used for river improvement projects for more than a century. Since 1895, more than 200 towboats, tenders, snag boats, dipper and hydraulic dredges, quarters’ boats, barges, launches and skiffs have been serviced at the “Boatyard.”

“For over a century, the Fountain City Service Base has been essential for maintaining the navigation channel on the Upper Mississippi River,” Moe said. “This modernization of our infrastructure is important for the St. Paul District to safely deliver the navigation mission over the next century.”

• Date Taken: 03.22.2023
• Date Posted: 03.22.2023 17:11
• Story ID: 440977
• Location: ST. PAUL, MN, US