Animation illustrates gantry-barge operation at Kentucky Lock

This is an animated video of the gantry crane barge system that will place 10 large concrete shells for the downstream cofferdam in the lock's lower approach channel beginning in the early August time frame. This animated video provides a visual of the lift-in activity. A large and specially constructed catamaran gantry barge system will lift a large concrete box (or shell) off of the barge it was cast on (see rendering below). The rectangular shell is approximately 46-feet wide, 51-feet long, and 33-feet tall with concrete walls about one-foot thick. The shell weighs about 1.3 million pounds. The gantry barge will then move about 200 yards to position itself in the set-down location. Once precisely positioned by a system of eight cables, the gantry barge will lower the shell into the water onto a prepared foundation on the bedrock. Four spuds on the shell will then be adjusted to put the weight of the shell on the foundation and off the gantry barge. The gantry barge will then disconnect from the shell and be moved 200 yards downstream. This will end the activity/event. All of the above is expected to last a full day and most activities will be very slow moving. There will be opportunities to view the installation of the shells over the next year. (USACE Animation Video by Stephen Stello)