Photo By Stacey Reese | Joshua Coriell, power plant mechanic, Walla Walla District, U.S. Army Corps of...... read more read more
TULSA, Okla. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District managed a variety of projects throughout fiscal year 2025, demonstrating a strong commitment to advancing missions within the district and beyond.
Tulsa District supports the warfighter through construction and facility improvement projects at six military installations in Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to its military mission, the district provides value to the nation by volunteering during natural disasters, reducing risk to life safety though flood risk mitigation, supporting navigation and commerce and providing electricity through hydropower generation.
"Our team's work this year exemplifies their dedication to delivering vital engineering solutions in support of national priorities," said Col. Jessica Goffena, commander, Tulsa District, USACE.
The USACE is a global military organization, and its headquarters regularly distributes mission assignments to districts and divisions on an as-needed basis to meet the nation's needs.
Demonstrating this distribution, the Tulsa District is managing two key projects in Southern California .
Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Project
The Whittier Narrows Dam reduces the risk of flooding to approximately 1 million residents in the greater Los Angeles area. The dam is a 3-mile-long earthen embankment with a maximum height of 56 feet. The primary objective of this project is to mitigate life-safety risks by modifying the dam to prevent erosion and overtopping.
Tulsa District awarded a dam safety construction contract to begin preconstruction services in March 2025. The contractor will commence construction in late 2026, with an expected completion date in 2032.
Prado Dam Safety Modification Project
The Prado Dam reduces the risk of flooding to approximately 1.4 million residents of Southern California. The Prado Dam Spillway Modification Project is part of the Santa Ana River Mainstem Project, which aims to enhance flood risk management benefits. The dam safety project includes replacing the existing spillway and raising the spillway crest elevation to improve flood protection for downstream communities.
Tulsa District awarded a dam safety construction contract to begin preconstruction services in March 2025. The contractor will commence construction in 2027 with an expected completion date of 2032.
Here are some of the key regional projects Tulsa manages.
Tulsa and West-Tulsa Levee
The USACE constructed the Tulsa-West Tulsa Levee system in 1945. Following the 2019 flood event, the Tulsa District USACE assessed the levee system. Following this assessment, the USACE ranked the system among the top 5 percent of levee systems nationwide, indicating it is at the highest risk for failure.
In response, USACE completed a feasibility study and signed the resulting chief's report in April 2020. Congress allocated funding through the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act in January 2022, and the state of Oklahoma appropriated additional funds in May 2024. USACE and the Tulsa County Drainage District 12 signed a partnership agreement in August 2025, solidifying their commitment to the project.
The purpose of the project is to enhance the resiliency of the levee system by mitigating risks to life and property damage in portions of Tulsa County and the City of Tulsa.
The plan includes a filter berm along Levees A and B, armoring along Levee B to address potential overtopping and reconstruction of pump stations 1 through 5.
MKARNS Tainter Valve Repairs
Tulsa District awarded a contract in May 2025 to perform critical maintenance and repairs to Tainter valves at lock chambers for W.D. Mayo Lock and Dam 14, Chouteau Lock and Dam 17 and Newt Graham Lock and Dam 18. Each lock chamber contains four 12-foot by N 12-foot valves, two for filling and two for emptying the lock chamber. The existing valves have been in operation for more than 55 years.
This contract work is a joint effort between Alltech Engineering Corp, the contractor, and the Tulsa District navigation repair fleet. The contractor will remove valves from the locks to inspect, repair, blast and paint them. The repair work will include structural repairs, replacing seals, strut and trunnion pins, bushings, anodes and other necessary components.
"Tainter valves are a critical asset to the operation of locks on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System," said Rodney Beard, navigation operations project manager, Tulsa District, USACE.
"Loss of a Tainter valve would disrupt the movement of commerce, causing significant impacts to both the local and national economy," said Beard.
Webbers Falls Stilling Basin repair
During inspections conducted following the 2019 flood event, engineers found evidence of erosion, known as scour, near the Webbers Falls Lock and Dam stilling basin. As a result of its inspection and findings, engineers developed a plan to address the issue.
Before full-scale construction, contractors performed a concrete mock-up to ensure that the mix, design and equipment placement methods met quality requirements. This test also validated the underwater concrete placement system.
Placement of the concrete involves a pump truck in the powerhouse parking lot, which feeds concrete through a conduit along the tailrace to barges on the river. A second pump on the barges pushes the concrete through hoses operated by divers on the riverbed.
The first two major phases, known as lifts, have been completed. Between lift one and lift two, contractors placed approximately 5,500 cubic yards of concrete underwater at depths of up to 30 feet. Additional lifts are currently underway to complete the project.
Tenkiller Lake Bridge Spillway Replacement Project
Since 2020, the Tulsa District has been working to replace the Tenkiller Spillway Bridge due to its fracture-critical design and severe defects in the superstructure.
The Tulsa District received funding for the bridge placement through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2023.
The project includes bridge demolition, new bridge construction, lighting and electrical service installation, replacement of the existing water line under the structure, crack and spall repairs on piers, installation of new catwalks and torque shafts/supports, provision of monorail hoists and roadway improvements.
The contractor will begin work in October 2025 and expects to continue for approximately 2.5 years.
KC-46A pavement projects – Tinker Air Force Base
The KC-46A pavements project consists of two parts: engine run-up pads, which will support aircraft engine tests up to full throttle and non-organizational parking for employee vehicles.
Dirt work and underground utility work are currently underway.
The project is part of a larger KC-46A campus, with seven of 14 planned bays currently in operation. The contractor will turn over three additional bays in fiscal year 2026. When complete, the 158-acre campus will provide eight hangars, ramp infrastructure, software innovation labs and engine test facilities.
Advanced individual training barracks – Fort Sill
The Tulsa District recently completed two advanced individual training barracks at Fort Sill.
Each multistory barracks is 90,000 square feet and includes living quarters, multipurpose spaces that also serve as International Code Council ICC-500 compliant storm shelters and classrooms with partitions.
The contractor substantially completed the project and USACE turned it over to the end user on March 31, 2025, well ahead of the required completion date of July 11, 2025.
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant demolition shop
The Tulsa District will oversee a project to construct an ammunition reclamation center at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant. The project will include facilities for the demilitarization process, unattended process control rooms, employee change rooms, a break room and rail access.
The center is required to handle the demilitarization of various munitions, including new insensitive munition loads, and reclaim energetic materials and components where applicable.
Demilitarization or reclamation is conducted once a munition is deemed obsolete, is no longer serviceable or to manage the reuse of salvageable components of production reject rounds.
Depending on the munitions and associated hazards, demilitarization or reclamation is performed using melt-out, washout or machine-out procedures. If not performed in the proper environment with the proper safety and quality controls, these procedures can expose workers to health and safety hazards.
The new complex is necessary to provide flexibility in conducting the required procedures while enabling unattended operations to limit worker exposure to hazardous environments.
Reclamation of explosive components enable the Department of War to reutilize raw materials from munitions father than dispose of them through detonation. Due to the inherent danger of handling ammunition and explosives, special facilities are required to protect workers and the community.
Emergency response deployments
The Tulsa District is home to one of seven Power Planning and Response Teams within USACE. In fiscal year 2025, the team deployed in support of multiple disasters, including Hurricane Milton, Invest 94L (Nadine) and the Southern California Wildfire Mission.
Beyond power team deployments, Tulsa District personnel contributed to wildfire debris missions in North Carolina, responded to Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Francine, supported ongoing recovery efforts from the Maui wildfires and assisted with flood response in Kentucky.
Approximately 50 Tulsa District employees deployed as quality assurance representatives for the Southern California and Hurricane Helene response missions, serving for periods ranging from 30 to 120 days.
"These projects demonstrate our unwavering commitment to excellence, safety, and mission success," said Goffena. "I am incredibly proud of our people and their dedication to delivering quality projects that safeguard lives and bolster our nation's security and resilience in areas ranging from national defense to disaster response."
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2025 14:50 |
| Story ID: | 552838 |
| Location: | TULSA , OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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