May 23, 2025
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Project to stop carp at Brandon Road lock in Joliet Township back on

State announces land donation

By Bob Okon
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to extend the Brandon Road Lock and Dam guide walls another 1,000 feet, seen in the background, and include deterrents to prevent upstream movement of invasive carp and other unwanted aquatic species.

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet Township is the site of a $1.1 billion project aimed at stopping invasive Asian carp from moving up the Des Plaines River into the Great Lakes. guide walls another 1,000 feet, seen in the background, and include deterrents to prevent upstream movement of invasive carp and other unwanted aquatic species (Gary Middendorf/gmiddendorf@shawmedia.com)

The Brandon Road Interbasin Project, aimed at blocking invasive carp from getting into the Great Lakes, apparently is proceeding again in Joliet Township as planned.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday announced that the state has completed the acquisition of an almost 50-acre parcel at the site needed for continued construction.

Pritzker’s announcement is the first from his office on the project since the governor in February canceled a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site outside the Brandon Road Lock and Dam.

The governor said at the time that the project could not continue amid uncertainty about federal funding under President Donald Trump.

“After receiving the necessary assurances from the federal government, my administration acted quickly and formally acquired the land needed for construction,” Pritzker said in a news release issued Friday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed installing several measures at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet to help prevent the movement of invasive Asian carp toward Lake Michigan. (Image provided)

Those assurances were received May 9, according to the release.

The acquired property, which includes riverbed access for the Brandon Road lock, was donated to the state by Midwest Generation LLC.

The Brandon Road Interbasin Project is supported with $225 million appropriated by Congress during President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the release.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $1.1 billion, which is largely to be funded by the federal government.

Work on the project started in January, with contractors removing rock from the Des Plaines River bed in preparation for further construction.

That work was to continue despite the cancellation of the February groundbreaking, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said at the time.

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