Environmental
Another Contract for Carp Deterrent Effort
Work resumes in April after Trump administration pause on Brandon Road Interbasin Project
LET IT RIP The underwater jackhammer named Xcentric Ripper is used to break up and clear bedrock in preparation for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project's planned engineered channel that will make it easier to add new technologies.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has selected a Black & Veatch-Stantec joint venture for design, engineering and analytical services for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project. Under an $85-million single-award task-order contract covering an eight-year ordering period, the firms will work on modifications to the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Ill., intended to stop invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes.
The April 23 award is for Increment III of the overall $1.15-billion project. Its scope of work includes designing a new engineered channel, underwater electric and acoustic deterrents and facilities for those systems, and work on descending bank lines.
The joint venture brings "comprehensive multidisciplinary capabilities to support a nationally critical project with long-term environmental and economic benefits," said Tom Rose, federal agencies segment leader for Black & Veatch, in a statement.
This is the second award for work on the project since the Trump administration paused funding and called for an administrative review in December 2025. The move drew pushback from the senators of Illinois and Michigan in a January letter, Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) in a March statement, Gov. Tony Evers (D-Wis.) in an April 10 letter, and led to a March meeting between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and President Donald Trump.
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On April 11, the Corps awarded J.F. Brennan Co. Inc., La Crosse, Wis., a $113.8-million contract to complete remaining projects for Increment I. Site preparation and channel rock excavation for Increment I had been completed in July 2025.
Brandon Road Lock and Dam is described by the Corps in a press release as a "critical pinch point" in preventing the costly intrusion of carp and other invasive species into the Great Lakes. The management approach for the project uses a "layered system of innovative technologies," according to the release, including a bubble curtain flowing up from the channel floor, underwater speakers playing sounds that repel carp, and an electric field spanning the channel.
