Rock Island District Wicket Gates

Description

Composite Advantage’s FRP wicket gate is the first composite navigational gate structure to be used by the USACE. Wicket gates are movable dams used to help maintain a navigational pool in a river. The gates are raised during periods of low water.
In 2015, Composite Advantage designed and fabricated three 16 ft. long, 4ft. wide, 8 in. thick FRP wicket gates for installation at the Peoria Lock & Dam on the Illinois River, Creve Coeur, Illinois. The composite product replaced traditional chanoine-type wicket gates made of white oak, a costly, diminishing natural resource.

FRP wicket gates are 40 percent less on a first-cost basis and provide a lifespan of more than 50 years – unlike conventional wood gates, which have a lifespan of approximately 15 years. FRP’s corrosion resistance makes maintenance minimal. Composite Advantage’s FRP product has been sourced by USACE in the 2018 budget for the LaGrange and Peoria Lock & Dam locations along the Illinois waterway. USACE is projecting a material and labor costs savings of $18.6 million over the next 50 years at these sites.

This product’s innovation paves the way for the use of GFRP composites nationwide by USACE and other governmental agencies on a multitude of additional navigation and water-control structures with even more demanding performance requirements, such as large culvert valves and radial gates.