The White House ordered federal action through the $1.2 billion Brandon Road Interbasin Project to prevent invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes.
Invasive carp threaten the Great Lakes’ $6 trillion economy and vital ecosystems supporting around 40 million people.
The construction project uses multiple barriers at a key migration point, requiring coordinated federal and state efforts to complete construction.
The White House issued a directive Friday to maximize the speed and efficiency at the federal level to prevent invasive carp from entering and expanding within the Great Lakes Basin.
The Brandon Road Interbasin Project is a $1.2 billion federal initiative at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois, designed to prevent invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes.
The project uses a layered system of deterrents, including an electric barrier, bubble curtain, underwater acoustic deterrent, and flushing lock.
Construction is scheduled in multiple phases, with the first contracts focused on site preparation, riverbed rock removal, and staging area setup.
Critical Waters Threatened by Invasive Species
The Great Lakes is the world’s largest surface freshwater system and a vital economic engine supporting shipping, fishing, recreation, and drinking water for over 40 million people.
But the waters face a mounting threat from invasive carp. The aggressive fish, which have already devastated ecosystems in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, threaten to disrupt the delicate ecological balance of the Great Lakes, endangering native species and jeopardizing industries that generate billions in economic activity annually.
Officials said that every state bordering the Great Lakes, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, stands at risk.
Federal authorities have signaled their readiness to act, but effective prevention includes swift, coordinated action from state governments.
Deploying new barriers and deterrent technologies, such as the Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Illinois, is critical to stopping the carp’s advance before irreversible damage is done.
The stakes include the region’s environment and its $6 trillion economy.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leads the project, with Illinois and Michigan as non-federal sponsors.
The first construction contract was awarded to Miami Marine Services, in partnership with Michels Construction, for $15.5 million to handle site preparation and riverbed work.
The site is a critical pinch point for invasive carp migration, making the effectiveness and reliability of installed deterrents critical.
Given the project’s complexity, phased approach, and billion-dollar budget, construction is expected to last several years, but officials have not yet provided a precise end date.
A funding dispute between President Trump and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker stalled the $1.2 billion Brandon Road Interbasin Project, which was designed to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes.
The Secretaries of the Interior, Commerce, and the Army, along with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are ordered to determine and rapidly implement the most effective barriers and measures to stop carp migration.
Construction economy news and insights you can act on.
At ConstructConnect, our software solutions provide the information construction professionals need to start every project on a solid foundation. For more than 100 years, our keen insights and market intelligence have empowered commercial firms, building product manufacturers, trade contractors, and architects to make data-driven decisions, streamline preconstruction workflows, and maximize their productivity. Our newest offerings—including our comprehensive, AI-assisted software—help our clients find, bid on, and win more projects.
ConstructConnect operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000.
For more information, visit constructconnect.com