Home / Media / News Stories

  • April

    Lyle Peterson, civil engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, drags a chain across one of the bridges at the Big Bend Dam near Fort Thompson, S.D. Chaining allows bridge inspectors to determine whether or not there are any underlying problems beneath the surface of the bridge which require repairs to keep the bridge safe and operational.

    Chaining ensures Corps’ bridges not weakest link

    For more than 25 years, the sound of rattling chains has pierced the air whenever Lyle Peterson crossed one of the bridges spanning the Missouri River at one the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Omaha District’s six mainstem dams.

  • March

    Memo from the Director of Contracting re: COVID-19

    For USACE Contractors, As the Director of Contracting for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, I wanted to personally reach out to all of you and let you know that we are actively monitoring the situation in regards to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Attached is the guidance we received on planning for potential Novel Coronavirus Contract Impacts.

  • January

    Workers use a boom concrete pump truck to place concrete around the metal shell of a Cut & Cover tank at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Each layer of concrete is allowed to set before additional concrete is placed, until the entire tank is protected by concrete. (Photo by Clay Bolton)

    Special Projects Branch hits 10-year milestone

    In many organizations, there are some tasks and projects that just don’t seem to fit into an easily defined category. This was also the case for the Corps of Engineers Omaha District in 2009. The District had projects that needed to be completed, but didn’t quite fit the mold of the programs they were assigned to. The solution to that issue to the stand up the Special Projects Branch. It was a new concept when the first eight-person team was assembled to take on these outliers, which totaled more than $140 million that first year. Since then, the branch has grown to 52 people and nearly $600 million worth of work annually.
  • Flood fighting efforts are taken Sept. 22 to protect completed repair efforts from rising high water along the L-575 Missouri River Levee System where initial breach repairs were being made.

    Winter doesn't put freeze on flood repairs

    When the unprecedented and historical flooding started in the Missouri and Platte River basins in March 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District responded immediately. Within hours, the District, led by the Readiness Branch, was developing plans and sending materials out to fight the flood and provide assistance to communities within harm’s way.

  • December

    The cross-section of a pipe showing a buildup of zebra mussels found at Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, SD, photo taken Sept. 4, 2019

    Invasive species mussel in on Gavins Point Dam

    When you’re talking about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ six mainstem dams on the Missouri River, the word small is a relative term. While the dams and their powerhouses vary in size, they are all imposing structures. For instance, Gavins Point Dam, near Yankton, South Dakota, is the smallest of the six, yet it took 7 million cubic yards of earth to build and its three Kaplan generators are capable of generating electricity for 68,000 homes. This makes it that much more ironic that something as small as a zebra mussel could give it such big problems.

News from around USACE

McNary turns 70!
10/7/2024
As the population grew in the Pacific Northwest, communities formed around the Columbia and Snake rivers. Back then, the currents were temperamental and hard to navigate. However, there was a vision...
Seawall will raise quality of life for shore communities
10/7/2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District has a coastal storm risk management plan in place that will help reduce coastal impacts along Staten Island’s east coast during future coastal...
Nelson Sanchez to retire after nearly 40 years of service
10/7/2024
In 1985, many significant events happened around the world. The first WrestleMania was held at Madison Square Garden, and the Main Event was Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr...
Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis model version 8.0 released
10/7/2024
The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) recently announced the release of version 8.0 of the Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic...
VIEW MORE