Conrad Shipyard to build second Olmsted wicket lifter

Conrad Shipyard built the primary wicket lifter crane barge for the Olmsted Project, seen here on its delivery trip

NOVEMBER 5, 2018 — Conrad Shipyard LLC, Morgan City, LA, has been awarded a $9,899,207 firm-fixed-price contract for a floating crane barge to be used at the Olmsted Lock and Dam on the Ohio River as a backup wicket lifter.

Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Morgan City, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of March 3, 2020.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, KY, is the contracting activity.

Conrad Shipyard built the primary wicket lifter for the project, the James M. Keen, a crane barge measuring 110 feet, 6 inches by 60 feet with a molded depth of 8 feet, 6 inches, that was commissioned in August this year.

The wicket lifters are used to raise and lower the steel dam wickets and perform maintenance functions at the Olmsted Lock and Dam .

When raised, wickets block water and feed it to adjacent boat locks that safely harbor barges to a lower elevation when the river is low.