Photo By Jordan Raiff | Newly regrooved gudgeon hinge pin. The spiral cuts allows the grease to be distributed...... read more read more
Working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presents unique opportunities when vital aging infrastructure needs repair. Composed of specialized individuals performing highly technical and tactical tasks to the highest standards in rapid time with little room for error, teams in the USACE Rock Island District are frequently setting the standard and coming to the aid of those in need.
In September, the Chicago Harbor Lock, which is operated by the USACE Chicago District, experienced an emergency closure, and Rock Island District dive coordinator Mike Barry and his crew were called to respond.
“Chicago contacted us. They still rely on Rock Island to provide all their maintenance support to the Chicago Harbor Lock. They had contacted the maintenance crew and said their gates were making a noise and wanted us to come investigate,” explained Barry.
Once onsite, the maintenance crew and dive team determined the gudgeon pins on the gates were not getting adequate grease. Although this situation might present a small problem for some locks, this situation was different.
According to Barry, the Chicago Harbor is the busiest lock in the nation for lockages.
“It’s huge on tourism, and they do over 8,000 lockages per year. So, for that lock to not be operational impacts their tourism greatly,” said Barry. “With the lock not being operational, this means they have to cancel tours and other work.”
To avoid disruption to tourism and navigation in the area, Barry indicated they typically work from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. during a night closure. His team sprang into action as soon as the site was ready, to expedite the process.
“We suspected it was a grease issue based on past experience,” said Barry.
The dive team first used hydraulic rams to jack up the gates, taking half the weight off the hinges. The maintenance crew then pulled the pins from the top and confirmed the problem.
“The backside of the pins were dry,” said Barry.
According to Michael Walsh, Operations Project Manager for the Illinois Waterway Project Office, “Once the pins were removed and it was evident grease flow in the bushing was an issue due to misaligned grooves between the bushing and pin, our engineers and the Rock Island Illinois Waterway Fleet did a great job working a solution to add additional grease grooves to the pin to help the grease be distributed better throughout the bushing.”
“We did this to two of the gates making the most noise,” explained Barry. “We pulled the pins out, measured the roundness of them, checked them for tolerances, and they seemed good on the bushing and pin.”
To people familiar with the Illinois Waterway and the USACE Rock Island District, the crew’s response and their dedication to the mission came as no surprise, said Barry.
“The Illinois Waterway maintenance crews are a highly skilled group of individuals, so they can pretty much do anything,” Barry said. “They run cranes and have the capabilities to determine what needs to be done. They also do machinist work, maintenance work, and repairs in-house. They dive, they weld, they do it all. It’s kind of amazing the capabilities we have in Rock Island. The guys on the maintenance crews are mostly also divers. We were on another job when we got the call to go to Chicago. In three days, we were on site and working. They crawl out, take the dive hat off, put the hard hat on, and are working topside on everything. It was great to see these guys jump back and forth from water to land.”
Having a dive team like this is just another way the Rock Island District is setting the standard for USACE. Something Barry and many others are grateful for.
“Chicago District is very appreciative of Rock Island District for their continued heavy maintenance support and quick response time,” said Walsh.
“I’d like to acknowledge everyone on the dive team. Having a dive team in-house with USACE is incredible. If we had to use external contractors, it’s hard to tell how long it would take to get this kind of emergency work done, and the dollar amount for emergency work would have been astronomical compared to what we do. Our dive team and maintenance crews are as highly skilled as anyone in the nation. We had the right people for the job, that’s for sure,” emphasized Barry.
| Date Taken: | 12.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.15.2025 12:58 |
| Story ID: | 554213 |
| Location: | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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