When Michael Braden took over as U.S Army Corps of Engineers’ divisions chief for the Olmsted Locks and Dam in 2013, job No. 1 was getting the $3.1-billion project back on schedule. Pushed back by numerous delays and scope changes from its original 1990s timeline, the locks and dam on the Ohio River finally are scheduled to open next year.

“It’s an extremely large scope” on a stretch of river that has a high volume of water, elevation changes and murky conditions, creating “a very challenging operational environment,” Braden says.