Manufacturers along the Tennessee River using the locks at Wilson Dam should receive some relief in June from delays caused by damage to its gates.

That’s when repairs by the U,S. Army Corps of Engineers will be complete, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala, and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., were told during a tour at the dam on Friday. The project will cost about $18 million.

“The big thing we’re trying to do is meet commerce’s demand,” Strong said. “You start looking at not only agriculture, steel, but you look at national security. We’re just a matter of miles from a 2.4 million square feet, under roof United Launch Alliance (in Decatur), which is the largest rocket plan in the world. They navigate this water also.”

Strong, who represents north Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, said damage to the main lock created hardships for businesses and industries dependent on barge traffic.

“But again, we’re one day closer to recovery,” the congressman said.

Lt. Col. Robert Green of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the Corps’ regional repair fleet is repairing the downstream minor gates at the Tennessee Valley Authority dam. He said the gates were found to have some cracks in the steel.

“These are the gates that hold back water while we operate the main gates of the locks,” Green said.

While the main lock is being repaired, barges are currently using the auxiliary lock. The auxiliary lock is 100 years old.

“It was the original lock,” Green said. “It was constructed in the 1920s. It’s a lot smaller. It’s a two-phase system. It takes a lot longer to navigate and traverse that lock.”

It still allows some barge traffic to operate up and down the river system.

“We have to bring in extra personnel to operate that,” Green said.

Green said what normally takes a two-hour barge lift in the main system takes as long as 24 hours with the auxiliary system.

Collins, who chairs the House Transportation and infrastructure on Water Resources Subcommittee, said TVA has manufactured a lot of the components involved with the project, which he said has speeded up the process.

“The Corps of Engineers and TVA are working together to solve this problem,” Strong added. “… It’s mechanical engineers at their best.”