THE GREAT LAKES AND OHIO RIVER DIVISION’S REGIONAL RIVERS REPAIR FLEET

As the operations and maintenance needs of our navigation infrastructure outpace funding levels, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers needs to ensure that our limited resources, personnel and funds are applied to actions that minimize the greatest risk of failure and yield the greatest benefit to the sustainment and reliability of the inland waterways system. In May 2015 the Commanding General, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, approved a reconfiguration of the separate river district’s fleets to the Regional Rivers Repair Fleet (R3F).

The former River maintenance fleet and service repair station configuration and anagement structure was not sustainable for several reasons; aging and deteriorating infrastructure that exceeded its economic design life, the major maintenance needs outpaced operations and maintenance funding levels in the region, even as O&M budgets have increased over the last five years; and, a growing number of major maintenance needs not within the essential core River Repair Fleet capability that we need the Rivers Repair Fleets and Stations to be doing. Essential core capability includes miter gate replacement and repair, and filling/emptying valve replacement and repair, hydraulic, mechanical and electrical equip replacement and repair.

The Regional Rivers Repair Fleet (R3F) provides the capability to execute major maintenance and repair efforts along 2,225 miles of the Alleghany, Clinch, Cumberland, Green, Kanawha, Monongahela,