CHICAGO, IL — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) awarded the Black & Veatch-Stantec joint venture a single award task order contract to provide design and engineering support services for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project (BRIP), a critical Great Lakes ecosystem protection effort. The Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Chicago, Illinois, has been identified as a critical pinch point where layered technologies could prevent the movement of invasive carp populations into the Great Lakes.

The $85 million contract will provide professional services over an eight‑year ordering period to modify the Brandon Road Lock and Dam between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins — a cornerstone of USACE's invasive aquatic species migration prevention strategy.

Invasive carp pose a serious threat to the Great Lakes, where their rapid spread and aggressive feeding habits could disrupt native ecosystems, diminish commercial and recreational fisheries, and harm regional economies for both the U.S. and Canada. By outcompeting native species for plankton and aquatic vegetation, invasive carp risk collapsing food webs and reducing gamefish populations. The BRIP aims to prevent large carp populations from establishing, support ongoing monitoring and management, and protect both ecological and economic resources.

Black & Veatch and Stantec will lead the design of several site improvements, including a new engineered channel, larger underwater electric and acoustic deterrents, site work on the descending bank lines, and new support facilities to house multi-deterrent systems.