News & Media
Title: Replacement of Chicago Harbor’s Lock Gates
Date: 10/27/2010
Chicago, IL - LMC Power hired us to assist in the fabrication of Chicago Harbor’s replacement lock gates, originally built in 1938. Between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, the lock serves as a one of the nation's busiest commercial and recreational waterways. Imperial and LMC worked together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and McCue Construction on the project.
Walter J. Baker, Fabrication Superintendent of LMC, found Imperial through a recommendation. “We did some shopping around and heard positive things about Imperial. Our sales representative, Mark Priepot, was able to work with us through multiple changes of our schedule and crane needs onsite. He was very helpful in supporting us as an out of state contractor in finding materials and miscellaneous equipment we needed. They have been very professional and we have continued to work with them.”
We were hired to make all four gates accessible to a waiting barge crane, along with supplying boom lifts, other equipment and support. The four 160,000 pound gates were repositioned by our two 300 ton LTM 1250 cranes. Each gate, approximately 50 feet in length by 50 feet in width by 30 feet in height, was lifted out of LMC Powers’ fabrication jig and relocated in multiple steps closer to the water over the course of four days in separate two day each mobilizations.
