Black Rock Lock reopening delayed

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District
Published May 9, 2019

Buffalo, NY – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District will be delaying the reopening of the Black Rock Lock, due to failure of the anchorage arm on the lower (downstream) west miter gate during the tensioning and gate movement process this morning.

The Black Rock Lock and Regional Rivers Repair Fleet Medium Capacity Fleet (R3F MCF) employees have been working hard to reinstall the gates after completing the repairs this winter, in order to open Black Rock Lock in time for navigation season.  While returning the gate to recess today, the anchorage arm failed while under tension.  After the failure occurred, it was observed that there might have been a fracture forming on the inside corner of the piece that would have created a weak point in the cast piece causing the failure, which was undetectable to the naked eye.  No injuries resulted from the failure.    

The team working on the repairs is working diligently to get access to a back-up anchorage arm from Marietta Repair Station.  Reportedly, this anchorage arm should be ready for pick-up tomorrow morning.  Repair work is anticipated to carry-on into next week.

The Black Rock Lock reopening is delayed for the time being.  Buffalo District will provide updates of when the gates will reopen as repairs to the anchorage arm take place and the information becomes available.

Photographs can be viewed here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/buffalousace/albums/72157705018024642


Contact
Andrew Kornacki
716-879-4349
716-352-8669 (cell)
andrew.a.kornacki@usace.army.mil
1776 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14207
or
Shaina Souder
716-879-4240
shaina.r.souder@usace.army.mil
1776 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14207

Release no. 19-011