U.S. Sen. Katie Britt took the opportunity during a recent hearing on Capitol Hill to advocate for the state of Alabama’s aging waterways, particularly the Demopolis, Holt, and Wilson Locks. All three canal gates, according to the lawmaker, have encountered recent failures.
Britt (R-Montgomery) spoke to Lt. Gen. William H. Graham, Jr., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chief of Engineers and Commanding General about the issue.
“When these things happen, it disrupts our entire economies,” said Britt. “I mean, we saw it negatively impact our [agriculture] industry, negatively impact our energy industry, negatively impact our aerospace industry.”
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In recent months, the Republican has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure that significant funding will be allocated for upgrading the locks.
“I’m also pleased to see that the work plan budgeted for repairs in Demopolis and Holt, and also appreciate what you’re doing in Coffeeville as well,” she told Graham. “I think it is imperative that we actually fix these things before they become a problem. There is no reason for us to get to the point of failure. We should be taking a look and making responsible upgrades and maintenance on the front end so that we don’t get to this point.”
Lt. Gen. Graham revealed to Britt he has personally visited Demopolis with top engineers in an attempt to remedy the issue.
“I stood down at the sill, Demopolis, and I had all of our smart engineers from around the nation there, and we were trying to figure out how could we have seen, that that Sill might give way … They got really inventive up at Holt so that we could get that back in operation with the temporary fix, and then we have the long term fix handled,” said Graham.
Britt then referenced the success of Mobile Bay’s deepwater port project, noting that it has been both ‘on time and under budget.’
The military official responded.
“On Mobile Harbor, this is going to be a great year on the deepening. The key to success (is) stable, predictable funding.”
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During her final comments, Britt transitioned to the dredging of Mobile Harbor.
“This is critically important,” she said. “We can do two things: We can make sure that we have the economic engine that is the Port of Mobile, and we responsibly preserve our natural resources. It is imperative that this dredged material could be used for habitat restoration, for beach nourishment, for wetland creation.”
“I am absolutely not going to back off of this and believe that we can do both things.”
Senator Britt led the entire Alabama delegation in a letter to Army Corps leadership last fall expressing their concerns over the major lock failures on key waterways.
Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
