7 Apr 2020

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.

17 Mar 2020

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.

8 Jan 2020

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.

2 Jan 2020

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.

13 Dec 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.