Murray Lock and Dam (Lock & Dam No. 7) is a critical component of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Little Rock District. Located on the Arkansas River at River Mile 125.4 in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas (Pulaski County), near Marche and just upstream from the Big Dam Bridge (a renowned pedestrian and bicycle bridge spanning the structure).

Key Challenges

The rehabilitation and painting of 14 large Tainter gates (30 ft high × 60 ft wide) at the Murray Lock & Dam in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, presented several significant challenges.

• Complete removal of an existing lead-based paint system, surface preparation, and application of a USACE-specified vinyl coating system
• Structural repairs (AWS D1.1) including bracing member replacements, deteriorated welded connection repairs, stiffener plate replacements, skin plate repairs, and miscellaneous weld repairs.
• Side seal assembly and j bulb replacement
• Anode replacement
• Reassembly of the Tainter gate hoisting cable hitch block assemblies (including design and installation of temporary gate supports and NDT inspection).
• All work was performed from a floating plant using work barges, with Paragon self-performing stop log installation and removal using company-owned cranes.

The location in the heart of downtown Little Rock added complexity, as a heavily traveled pedestrian bridge spanned directly over the work area. Containing the spent abrasive blast media and lead-based paint from these massive gates while maintaining full environmental compliance was critical.

How We Delivered

Paragon designed and implemented a state-of-the-art, fully engineered containment system —including the gate arms—that maintained continuous negative pressure and achieved SSPC Class 1A standards. Recognizing the limitations of conventional approaches, we retained an expert professional engineer specializing in industrial abrasive blasting and painting to develop an innovative, custom containment solution specifically for these large Tainter gates.

This new system dramatically improved worker safety, ensured complete capture of all spent abrasive and lead-based paint debris, and prevented any environmental release. Our environmental team conducted continuous ambient air monitoring on the adjacent pedestrian bridge and community noise monitoring to ensure zero adverse impact to the public.

The project was completed safely, ahead of schedule, and in full compliance with all environmental regulations and USACE requirements.